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

The complainant requested information held by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) relating to investigations carried out into the safety of fire doors. The MHCLG refused the request, citing the exemption at section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious requests) on the grounds that compliance would cause an unreasonable burden. The Commissioner’s decision is that the MHCLG is entitled to rely on section 14 to refuse to comply with the request, and that it has provided reasonable advice and assistance to the complainant as to how they might submit a request that would not be burdensome.