Unsurprisingly I was not happy with how the Home Office handled my FOI and the subsequent Internal Review.

My Challenges:

I presented five challenges to the ICO as the basis of my complaint.

• Challenge 1 – Misapplied 35(1)(a) as a blanket exemption
• Challenge 2 – Exemption 35(1)(a) applied without evidence
• Challenge 3 – Public Interest Test (PIT) was incomplete
• Challenge 4 – Indefinite Withholding After 11-Year Inaction Renders Exemption Unjustifiable
• Challenge 5 – Breach of legitimate expectations & Consultation Principles

A timeline of evidence has been compiled to support my complaint. These consist of Parliamentary Written Questions & Answers, minutes from the Animal Science Committee, other FOIs (referenced from resource sheets from The Camp Beagle).

Timeline:

As per the ICO’s FOI Casework Guide Hub, all cases have to assigned a caseworker within 12 weeks. For priority cases, that will be 4 weeks.

I included some reasons for my case to be a priority, we will see if that is effective.

Expectations:

The ICO sets out clear guidance on the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It is my believe that the Home Office has not complied with the FOIA on my FOI request. I expect the Home Office will put up a fight – they have been refusing to release the 2014 consultation for 11 years. This is clearly a difficult topic for them, they’re not going to comply easily.