Cabinet Office

The complainant submitted a request to the Cabinet Office asking whether any current ministers declared a criminal conviction to officials during their appointment process and if so, how many. The Cabinet Office refused to confirm or deny whether it held information in falling within the scope of the request on the basis of sections 40(5B)(a)(i) (personal data), 41(2) (information provided in confidence) and section 36(3) (effective conduct of public affairs). The Commissioner’s decision is that the Cabinet Office is entitled to refuse to confirm or deny whether it holds any information on the basis of section 40(5B)(a)(i) of FOIA.