Key Facts
- •Peter Dennis applied for permission to appeal a decision to strike out his appeal against the Information Commissioner.
- •The appeal concerned a Freedom of Information Act 2000 request to the Education Authority (EA) for information about the recruitment of an acting principal.
- •The applicant argued that the EA failed to provide relevant information, including an email suggesting inadequate search practices.
- •The Tribunal found that the email in question did not fall within the scope of the applicant's FOIA request.
- •Permission to appeal was refused.
Legal Principles
For permission to appeal to be granted, there must be a realistic prospect of success.
Smith v Cosworth Casting Processes Ltd [1997] 1 WLR 1538
Exceptional circumstances are required to justify a grant of permission to appeal.
Christie v Information Commissioner [2022] UKUT 315 (AAC)
Tribunal considers whether to review decision based on Rule 44 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009, as amended.
Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009
Outcomes
Permission to appeal refused.
The Tribunal found no arguable error of law and no exceptional circumstances justifying an appeal. The information the applicant sought to introduce was deemed outside the scope of his original FOIA request.