MoD Personnel Records project

FOI request reference: CAS-82680-W9D1M6
Publication date: May 2022

Request

In the July 2021 Board Minutes https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/board-minutes-2021-07.pdf.

Item 9.1 refers to a paper presented to the Board on the providing an update on MoD Records Project.

Item 9.3(iii) also refers to a meeting of the Strategy Meeting to be held in September 2021 at which the MoD Records Project was to be discussed further.

Please would it be possible to request:

1. A copy of the paper presented to the Board in July 2021 (referenced at item 9.1 of the July Board minutes).

2. Copies of any papers related to the MoD Records Project produced for the ‘September Strategy Meeting’ (and any minutes of such meeting) referred to in item 9.3(iii) of the July 2021 Board Minutes.

3. Any further board papers, documents or updates/internal memorandum prepared since July 2021 on the status of the MoD Records Project.

Outcome

Some information provided.

Response

1. A copy of the paper presented to the Board in July 2021 (referenced at item 9.1 of the July Board minutes).

Please use the following link to access a digital copy of the requested paper. Some information within this paper is considered exempt under sections 36(2) (b) and 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. This information has therefore been extracted from the attached digital copy.

2. Copies of any papers related to the MoD Records Project produced for the “September Strategy Meeting” (and any minutes of such meeting) referred to in item 9.3(iii) of the July 2021 Board minutes.

We have performed a search of our digital filing system and have identified a presentation which was produced for a strategy meeting for the MoD Personnel Records Project in September 2021. Please use the following link to access a copy of this presentation.

Some information within this presentation is considered exempt under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. Furthermore some information does not fall within the current remit of the project and is consequently considered outside the scope of your request. This information has therefore been extracted from the attached digital copy.

3. Any further board papers, documents or updates/internal memorandum prepared since July 2021 on the status of the MoD Records Project.

We have performed a search of our digital filing system and identified 3 board papers, 5 sets of meeting minutes, 4 presentations, 3 papers and 1 audit report which were created since July 2021 and which concern the status of the MoD Personnel Records Project. Please use the following link to access a digital copy of this material.

Some information within this material is considered exempt under sections 31(1)(a), 36(2) (b), 40(2) and 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. Furthermore some information does not concern the status of the project and is consequently considered outside the scope of your request. This information has therefore been extracted from the attached digital copy.

EXPLANATORY ANNEX

Exemptions applied.
Section 31: Law Enforcement
We are unable to provide you with information regarding IT hardware brands because this information is exempt from disclosure under section 31 (1) (a) of the FOI Act. Section 31 (1) (a) exempts information if its disclosure is likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime.

Section 31 is a qualified exemption and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and the information must be released. In the FOI Act there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.

The public interest has now been concluded and the balance of the public interest has been found to fall in favour of withholding information covered by the section 31 (1) (a) exemption. Considerations in favour of the release of the information included the principle that there is a public interest in transparency and accountability in disclosing information about how government utilises technology. However, release of this information would make The National Archives more vulnerable to crime. The crime in question here would be a malicious attack on The National Archives’ computer systems. As such release of this information would be seen to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime by making The National Archives’ computer system more vulnerable to hacking. There is an overwhelming public interest in keeping government computer systems secure which would be served by non-disclosure. This would outweigh any benefits of release. It has therefore been decided that the balance of the public interest lies clearly in favour of withholding the material on this occasion.

Further guidance on section 31 can be found here:
https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1207/law-enforcement-foi-section-31.pdf.

Section 36: Prejudice to Effective Conduct of Public Affairs
Section 36 (2) (b) exempts information from release if, in the reasonable opinion of a qualified person, disclosure of the information would, or would be likely to; (b)(i) inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and (b)(ii) the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation.

Section 36 is a qualified exemption and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and the information must be released. In the FOIA there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.

With the agreement of the Qualified Person, who in this case is the Chief Executive and Keeper of The National Archives, in whose reasonable opinion this exemption is engaged, the public interest has now been concluded and the balance of the public interest has been found to fall in favour of non-disclosure.

Considerations in favour of the release of the information included the principle that there is a public interest in showing a true and open account of government decision-making, making for greater accountability and increasing public confidence in the integrity of the decisions made. There is also a general public interest in being able to evaluate government policy. Furthermore disclosure would offer insight into the operation of large scale transfer projects thus enabling and enriching public debate on this subject.

However, it is considered that the release of some of the information requested would prejudice the effective function of the process for large-scale transfers of archival records; including this on-going project. It is important that officials are able to exchange views freely and frankly and to fully discuss any issues that effect this process. To release some of the requested information may act as an inhibitor to necessary discussions which would not be in the public interest and would be likely to prejudice The National Archives’ ability to carry out its statutory obligations, namely the provision of access to historical records in accordance with the Public Records Act, 1958.

After careful consideration, it has been decided that the balance of the public interest lies in favour of withholding the information on this occasion and that the factors for non-disclosure outweigh any benefits of release.

Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found at:
https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/1175/section_36_prejudice_to_effective_conduct_of_public_affairs.pdf.

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 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

In this case the exemption applies because the requested material contains information which would identify junior members of staff.

Publishing the names and positions 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 and positions 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.

Section 43(2): Commercial Interests
This section exempts information whose disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. In this case, the exemption applies because release would prejudice the commercial interests of The National Archives and its commercial partners.

Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and the information must be released. In the FOIA there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.

The public interest test has now been concluded and the balance of the public interest has been found to fall in favour of withholding information covered by the section 43(2) exemption.

Considerations in favour of the release of the information included The National Archives’ commitment to openness and transparency in its commercial activities, to allow public scrutiny and to demonstrate that public funds are being used in an efficient and effective way. Furthermore private sector companies engaging in commercial activities with the public sector must expect some information about those activities to be disclosed.

Considerations against disclosure included the recognition that disclosure is likely to provide information to direct competitors within the market that would create an imbalance and a commercial advantage to those competitors. Furthermore disclosure of this information is also likely to affect The National Archives’ ability to negotiate commercial arrangements and contracts for future work involved in this project (expected to take six years in total) and consequently generate revenue from non-public funds. It is also considered that disclosure would be likely to deter potential bidders for future contracts from competing and sharing commercially sensitive information with us.

As such, release of this information is seen to prejudice the commercial interests of both The National Archives and our commercial partners. This would outweigh any benefits of release. It was therefore decided that the balance of the public interest lies clearly in favour of withholding the material on this occasion.

Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found here:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi-guidance/section-43-commercial-interests/.