Department For Education (DFE)

The complainant has requested a copy of a ministerial submission relating to Free School Meals. The Department for Education (DfE) provided the submission but withheld several paragraphs of information under sections 35(1)(a) and 42 FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the DfE has correctly withheld the information it identified as exempt under section 42. In terms of section 35, the Commissioner considers that the exemption is engaged but the public interest favours disclosing the information. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the information the DfE had identified as exempt under section 35(1)(a) FOIA.