Northern Ireland Housing Executive

1.    The complainant has requested information from Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in relation to its housing scheme. NIHE refused the request, citing sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii), and 36(2)(c) (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) of FOIA. NIHE later applied section 42 of FOIA (legal professional privilege) to some of the requested information.
2.    The Commissioner’s decision is that NIHE has correctly applied sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii) to the requested information. As the Commissioner is satisfied that sections 36(2)(b)(i) and (ii) apply to the entirety of the requested information, he has not gone on to consider the application of sections 36(2)(c) and 42 of FOIA.
3.    The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken.