Derek Moss v Information Commissioner & Anor
[2023] UKFTT 674 (GRC)
United Voices of the World v Information Commissioner
7 September 2023
[2022] UKFTT 522 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A union asked the government for old cost information about raising cleaner's pay. The government said no, citing secrecy. A judge ruled the government *had* to share the information because it was old news and not really secret anymore.
Key Facts
- •United Voices of the World (UVW) requested costings from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for increasing cleaners' pay to the Living Wage.
- •The MoJ refused the request, citing various FOIA exemptions (s.36(2), s.41, s.43).
- •The Information Commissioner upheld the MoJ's refusal.
- •UVW appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT).
- •The MoJ disclosed the information in separate Employment Tribunal proceedings before the FTT hearing.
- •The FTT considered the information and the MoJ's arguments for exemption.
Legal Principles
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) exemptions
FOIA
Test for reasonableness of a Qualified Person's Opinion (relevant to s.36(2) FOIA exemptions)
Case law interpretation of FOIA s.36(2)
Public interest test in balancing FOIA exemptions against public interest in disclosure
Case law interpretation of FOIA
Actionable breach of confidence (s.41 FOIA)
Coco v A N Clark (Engineers) Ltd. [1969] RPC 41; AG v Guardian Newspapers (No 2) 1990 1 AC 109
Prejudice to commercial interests (s.43(2) FOIA)
Case law interpretation of FOIA s.43(2)
Trade secrets (s.43(1) FOIA)
Coppel’s Information Rights (5th Edition 2020, 34-054 Trade Secrets)
Outcomes
Appeal allowed
The FTT found that the MoJ's reliance on the FOIA exemptions was not justified. The information was stale, commercially useless, and did not meet the threshold for any of the cited exemptions.