Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)

The complainant submitted a three part request to the Department of Finance (the DoF) for all communications between two named individuals and the Departmental Solicitors Office (the DSO).  They also requested all communications given by the DoF to the DSO since 2019 that mention Excip Limited / Excip International and/or any of its officers.  The DoF refused the request citing section 42 (Legal Professional Privilege) of the FOIA. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the DoF informed the Commissioner that it does not hold information relevant to item 2 of the complainant’s request and maintained its reliance on section 42 in respect of items 1 and 3 of the request. However, in respect of items 1 and 3 of the request, it also applied section 41 (information provided in confidence) and section 14(1) (vexatious request) of the FOIA, on the basis that compliance would place a grossly oppressive burden on its resources.The Commissioner’s decision is that the DoF was entitled to rely on section 14(1) of the FOIA to refuse items 1 and 3 of the request, and based on the balance of probabilities, that it does not hold relevant information in respect of item 2 of the request. The Commissioner does not require any steps.