Request
A specific report (the paper circulated to the Reclosure Panel referred to under item 4, Summary of Reclosure Panel Meeting, 18th April 2024).
Outcome
Some information provided.
Response
I can confirm that The National Archives holds information relevant to your request and we are pleased to be able to provide this information to you.
We are unable to provide you with a small amount of the information you have requested, because it is covered by the exemption at section 40(2) of the FOI Act. This exempts personal data from disclosure. For further information about why this exemption has been applied, please see the explanatory annex at the end of this email.
This report you have referred to was identified as ‘Paper for discussion by the Cataloguing Panel on 7 February 2024’. Please find a copy of this which can be accessed here: https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/CAS-216113-attachment.pdf. The name of a member of TNA staff has been withheld under section 40(2).
Please note that this paper was circulated to the Takedown panel, not the Reclosure Panel. This is stated within item 4 on the summary of the Reclosure Panel meeting, 18th April 2024.
Explanatory annexe
Exemptions applied
Section 40(2): Personal Information where the applicant is not the data subject
Section 40 exempts personal information about a ‘third party’ (someone other than the requester), if revealing it would breach the terms of Data Protection Legislation. Data Protection Legislation prevents personal information from release if it would be unfair or at odds with the reason why it was collected, or where the subject had officially served notice that releasing it would cause them damage or distress. Personal information must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner as set out by Art. 5 of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
In this case the exemption applies because the requested material contains information which would identify junior members of staff.
Publishing the names and contact details of junior members of staff is considered an unfair use of personal data. Junior members of staff would have no expectation that information about their positions would be made available in the public domain; to do so would be unfair and contravene the first data protection principle of the Data Protection Act. As such, the names, positions and contact details of junior officials are withheld under section 40 (2) of the FOI Act.
Further guidance about the publication of junior staff names can be found here:
https://ico.org.uk/media/fororganisations/documents/1187/section_40_requests_for_personal_data_about_employees.pdf