Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The complainant made a multipart request to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (“the MHCLG”), of which part 2 sought the date on which its definition of the term ‘Windrush Generation’ was first announced to the public. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the MHCLG informed the Commissioner that identifying the date would engage section 12(1) of FOIA (cost of compliance) and now relied on that provision. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 12(1) is not engaged. The Commissioner requires the MHCLG to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: Issue a fresh response to part 2 of the request in which it does not rely on section 12 of FOIA.