James Coombs v Information Commissioner & Anor

James Coombs v Information Commissioner & Anor

The exemption in s.43(2) FOIA is engaged because disclosure of the raw test results would be likely to prejudice the University of Cambridge’s commercial interests by undermining its unique selling point of tutor-resistant tests. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in...

Source-derived case information.

Parties
Appellant: James Coombs; First Respondent: Information Commissioner; Second Respondent: The University of Cambridge
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
07 March 2023
Procedural Posture
Freedom of Information Appeal / First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) Decision
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information Act (foia), Section 43(2) Exemption, Public Interest Test, Vexatious Requests, Datasets Under FOIA
Information Law Administrative Law Freedom of Information Act (foia) Section 43(2) Exemption Public Interest Test Vexatious Requests Datasets Under FOIA

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Parties

James Coombs

Appellant

Information Commissioner

First Respondent

The University of Cambridge

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Freedom of Information Appeal / First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the exemption in s.43(2) FOIA is engaged for the requested raw test results
  2. 2 Whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure
  3. 3 Whether the request was vexatious under s.14 FOIA

Ratio Decidendi

The exemption in s.43(2) FOIA is engaged because disclosure of the raw test results would be likely to prejudice the University of Cambridge’s commercial interests by undermining its unique selling point of tutor-resistant tests. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure, as there is no evidence of wrongdoing, and transparency alone does not override the statutory exemption. The request was not found to be vexatious, but this was not determinative given the outcome under s.43(2).

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed