Department For Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

The complainant has requested information about Council for Sustainable Business meetings. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (‘Defra’) provided some of the requested information but relied on regulation 12(5)(f) of the EIR to withhold most of the content of the meeting notes. The Commissioner’s decision is that Defra was not entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(f) of the EIR to withhold some of the requested information. The Commissioner requires Defra to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: Disclose the withheld information with appropriate redactions made to remove the personal information of junior officials.