ICO Decision Notice: House of Commons FOI Complaint

ICO Decision Notices

Filed March 13th, 2026

Detected March 19th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice regarding a complaint against the House of Commons. The ICO found that the House of Commons correctly relied on Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act to withhold information related to role upgrades, deeming it third-party personal data.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice (Case Ref: IC-398269-P5K6) concerning a complaint against the House of Commons (HoC). The complainant requested information about role upgrades, which the HoC withheld under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), citing third-party personal information. The ICO has upheld the HoC's decision, concluding that the reliance on section 40(2) was correct and no further action is required.

This decision confirms the application of FOIA's third-party personal data exemption in the context of internal government information requests. For government agencies, this reinforces the established procedures for withholding information that falls under this exemption. No specific compliance actions are mandated by this notice, as it pertains to a specific complaint resolution rather than a new regulatory requirement.

Source document (simplified)

The Clerk of The House - House of Commons

Date 13 March 2026
Authority The Clerk of The House - House of Commons
Sector Central government
Decision(s) FOI 40(2): Not upheld The complainant has requested information about role upgrades. The House of Commons (the HoC) relied on section 40(2) of FOIA (third party personal information) to withhold the information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the HoC has correctly relied on section 40(2) of FOIA to withhold the information. The Commissioner does not require further steps to be taken.