Secretary of State for the Home Department (Home Office)

The complainant has requested all Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) relating to the Home Office’s Strategic Facial Matching (SFM) project. The Home Office confirmed that it held the information but refused to provide it citing section 35(1)(a) (formulation of government policy) of FOIA.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the Home Office was entitled to rely on section 35(1)(a) of FOIA to withhold the information and the public interest favours withholding the information
The Commissioner does not require further steps.