The Information Commissioner has upheld a complaint against the DESC, finding its handling of an FoI request “deficient on several grounds”.
The case centred on a request for all information relating to the 2024 external validation reviews of five island schools. While DESC supplied some information, it withheld most, citing multiple exemptions.
Commissioner Dr Alexandra Delaney-Bhattacharya found the DESC “improperly invoked blanket exemptions” without a “piece-by-piece assessment”.
She stated the Authority’s reliance on exemptions for the bulk of the request “appeared to constitute a blanket application across a substantial volume of information”.
Exemption
The Commissioner ruled one exemption was used without statutory authority and another, regarding personal data, was “unfounded.”
The DESC also “failed to demonstrate that a reasonable search was undertaken” for parts of the requested information.
It is now required to either fully disclose the information or issue a new, legally compliant refusal notice within 30 days or appeal.
You can find the full decision notice here.