UK Public Authority Forced To Identify Private Sector Consultant Under Freedom of Information Act

The First Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber (Information Rights) (the “FTT”), in the case of Alan Matthews v Information Commissioner [2014] EA/2012/0147, ruled that – despite being “personal data” – the name and qualifications of a private consultant should be released in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”). This overturned a June 2012 decision by the Information Commissioner (the “ICO”) that such information was exempt from release.

In 2011, an FOIA request was made by an individual, Alan Matthews, who had been unsuccessful in a bidding process to a now-defunct Local Development Agency, Business Link West Midlands Ltd (“Business Link”). An independent consultant had advised on the design of Business Link's tendering process, and the individual believed it to be flawed.

The ICO then ruled that the identity of the consultant was exempt information under s40(2) FOIA, as it was personal data, and disclosure would contravene the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

In this appeal, the FTT ruled: “…we believe there is a significant public interest in the disclosure of the identity of a consultant whose approval of a public contract tendering process is relied upon by a public authority to provide assurance as to its effectiveness and...