Mr Gerry Woodhouse v Information Commissioner: [2026] UKUT 313 (AAC)

Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber · 2026-08-11 · UK · verified record

Themes: Artificial intelligence · Data protection

Ecosystems: UK ICO — Automated Decisions

Mr Gerry Woodhouse v Information Commissioner: [2026] UKUT 313 (AAC) Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision of Judge Stout on 11 August 2026. Read the full decision in .Judicial Summary This appeal concerns the absolute exemption under section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) for information whose disclosure is prohibited under any enactment, in this case section 132 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) in relation to information obtained by, or provided to, the Information Commissioner in his regulatory capacity. The request concerned advice and communications between the Commissioner and a parish council. The Upper Tribunal held that the First-tier Tribunal had erred in law by failing adequately to consider whether parts of the withheld information consisting of material sent by the Commissioner to the council could be disclosed without revealing information protected by section 132(1)(a), and by failing properly to address the appellant’s argument that some of the information had previously been made available to the public during council meetings so that section 132(1)(c) did not apply. The First-tier Tribunal’s reasoning was inadequate because it failed to explain why it concluded that all of the withheld information had not previously been made available to the public, having failed to make sufficient findings as to what had been disclosed at public council meetings beyond what was recorded in the minutes.…