Caselaw Digest
Caselaw Digest

Jonathan Bourne v The Information Commissioner & Anor

9 November 2023
[2023] UKFTT 952 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone wanted a list linking property addresses to their unique IDs to help with research. The government said no because it would make it much easier for criminals to commit fraud, even though the address information is available elsewhere. The court agreed with the government.

Key Facts

  • Jonathan Bourne appealed the Information Commissioner's decision upholding HM Land Registry's refusal to release a title/UPRN lookup table under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
  • The Land Registry argued the information was exempt under section 31(1)(a) FOIA (prejudice to crime prevention and detection).
  • Bourne sought to link Land Registry data (e.g., Price Paid data) with other government datasets using UPRNs.
  • The Land Registry's National Polygon Service offers the requested data, but for a £20,000 annual fee.
  • The Commissioner found section 31(1)(a) applied due to the risk of increased fraud if title numbers were freely accessible with UPRNs.

Legal Principles

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), Section 21: Information reasonably accessible by other means.

FOIA

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), Section 31(1)(a): Information whose disclosure would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime.

FOIA

Public interest test: Weighing the public interest in maintaining the exemption against the public interest in disclosure.

FOIA, Section 31

Tribunal's remit under FOIA, Section 58: To determine if the Commissioner's decision was lawful or if discretion was exercised appropriately. The tribunal is not bound by the evidence before the Commissioner.

FOIA

Public authority's right to raise new exemptions even before the tribunal.

Birkett v Defra [2011] EWCA Civ 1606

Outcomes

Appeal dismissed.

The Tribunal found that releasing the requested lookup table would likely prejudice crime prevention and detection (Section 31(1)(a) FOIA). The public interest in preventing fraud outweighed the public interest in disclosure, despite the benefits for research and transparency.

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