Liam O’Hanlon & Anor v The Information Commissioner & Anor

Liam O’Hanlon & Anor v The Information Commissioner & Anor

The Tribunal held that the Cabinet Office was entitled to rely on a general Qualified Person’s opinion predating the request to withhold internal team email addresses under section 36(2)(c) FOIA, as the opinion remained substantively reasonable at the time of the request and the information was within the scope of the opinion. The Tribunal found that the scope of the Appellant’s request did not include correspondence predating the MP’s letter of 19 December 2022. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

Parties
Appellant: Liam O’Hanlon; Appellant/respondent: Cabinet Office; Respondent: Information Commissioner
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
28 November 2024
Procedural Posture
Freedom of Information Appeal / First Tier Tribunal Decision (general Regulatory Chamber) – Final Judgment
Outcome
The Appellant’s appeal is dismissed; the Cabinet Office’s appeal is allowed.
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Section 36 Exemption, Public Interest Test, Qualified Person's Opinion, Scope of FOI Requests
Information Law Administrative Law Freedom of Information Section 36 Exemption Public Interest Test Qualified Person's Opinion Scope of FOI Requests

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 4 Authorities cited 7 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Liam O’Hanlon

Appellant

Cabinet Office

Appellant/respondent

Information Commissioner

Respondent

Procedural Posture

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

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Cabinet Office could rely on section 36(2)(c) FOIA to withhold internal team email addresses based on a Qualified Person's opinion predating the request
  2. 2 Whether the scope of the FOI request included correspondence predating the MP’s letter of 19 December 2022
  3. 3 Whether the public interest in disclosure outweighed the exemption under section 36(2)(c) FOIA

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal held that the Cabinet Office was entitled to rely on a general Qualified Person’s opinion predating the request to withhold internal team email addresses under section 36(2)(c) FOIA, as the opinion remained substantively reasonable at the time of the request and the information was within the scope of the opinion. The Tribunal found that the scope of the Appellant’s request did not include correspondence predating the MP’s letter of 19 December 2022. The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

Court Disposition

The Appellant’s appeal is dismissed; the Cabinet Office’s appeal is allowed.

Orders

  • The Cabinet Office is permitted to rely on section 36 FOIA to withhold the disputed internal email inbox addresses.
  • The information provided to the Tribunal for the appeal in the open bundle may not be published without the Tribunal’s permission.