Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

The complainant has requested minutes of and other information relating to a specific meeting between the Culture Secretary (Lisa Nandy MP) and the BBC Director General (Tim Davie). The Department for Culture, Media and Sport made a partial disclosure but refused to provide the remainder citing section 36 (effective conduct of public affairs) and section 41 (information provided in confidence). They upheld and clarified this position at internal review. The Commissioner’s decision is that DCMS is entitled to rely on section 36(2)(b)(ii) as its basis for withholding the requested information. The Commissioner does not require further steps.