Secretary of State for the Home Department (Home Office)

The complainant has requested information about applications for communications data, authorised by the Office for Communications Data Authorisations (OCDA). The Home Office would neither confirm nor deny (NCND) whether it held information in scope, citing sections 23(5) (Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters), 24(2) (National security) and 27(4) (International relations) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Home Office was entitled to apply section 23(5) to issue an NCND response to the request.