Ben Lotz v The Information Commissioner & Anor

Facts

Mr Ben Lotz made a request to the Department for Work and Pensions on 20 May 2024 asking for an email address for a staff contact in each of the Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit teams at every Jobcentre in London, together with a list of those Jobcentres, the address in each case being the one 'most appropriate' for claimants to use. The DWP replied on 31 May 2024 relying on section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, but on internal review relied instead on section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the cost of compliance. In a decision notice of 4 December 2024 the Information Commissioner held that the DWP was entitled to rely on section 12(1), accepting a sampling exercise which gave an average of 17.5 minutes per team, producing 2,887.5 minutes across 55 Jobcentres, but that it had breached section 16 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by failing to offer advice and assistance, and required it to advise Mr Lotz on refining the request. Mr Lotz appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, contending that the estimate was unreasonable and the Commissioner's investigation flawed. The appeal was decided without a hearing on the papers.