Nick Martin-Clark v The Information Commissioner

Nick Martin-Clark v The Information Commissioner

The Tribunal erred in law by failing to conduct or explain a sufficient analysis of the withheld information to determine whether all or only some of it was exempt under section 41 FOIA, by not applying all limbs of the Coco test, and by declining to undertake this analysis on proportionality grounds. The Tribunal was not entitled to treat the entire Report as exempt without such findings, and its reasons were inadequate.

Parties
Appellant: Mr Nick Martin-Clark; First Respondent: The Information Commissioner; Second Respondent: Homes for Haringey
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
03 October 2023
Procedural Posture
Appeal From First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) / Upper Tribunal Judgment on Appeal
Outcome
Appeal allowed; First-tier Tribunal decision set aside and case remitted for reconsideration
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Confidential Information, Tribunal Procedure, Disclosure of Documents
Administrative Law Information Law Freedom of Information Confidential Information Tribunal Procedure Disclosure of Documents

Case Brief

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Parties

Mr Nick Martin-Clark

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

First Respondent

Homes for Haringey

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal From First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) / Upper Tribunal Judgment on Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the First-tier Tribunal erred in law in its approach to the section 41 FOIA exemption for confidential information
  2. 2 Whether the Tribunal was entitled to decline a granular analysis of the withheld documents on proportionality grounds
  3. 3 Whether the Tribunal failed to consider all limbs of the Coco v AN Clark (Engineers) Ltd test for breach of confidence

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal erred in law by failing to conduct or explain a sufficient analysis of the withheld information to determine whether all or only some of it was exempt under section 41 FOIA, by not applying all limbs of the Coco test, and by declining to undertake this analysis on proportionality grounds. The Tribunal was not entitled to treat the entire Report as exempt without such findings, and its reasons were inadequate.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; First-tier Tribunal decision set aside and case remitted for reconsideration

Orders

  • The decision of the First-tier Tribunal made on 30 June 2021 is set aside under section 12(2)(a) and (b)(i) of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
  • The case is remitted to the First-tier Tribunal for reconsideration in accordance with directions