Flavio Fellica v The Information Commissioner

Facts

The appellant, Flavio Fellica, a litigant in person who advised the Tribunal that they are agender and asked that gender-neutral language be used, had on 5 May 2024 complained to the Certification Officer about the University and College Union under section 108A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Responding on 16 July 2024 to the Certification Officer's request for further detail, the appellant described the complaint as involving breaches of union rules, procedural irregularities and statutory obligations by the union. On 26 December 2024 the appellant asked the Certification Officer for a record of any correspondence between that office and the union concerning the complaint at branch, regional and central level. The Certification Officer replied on 22 January 2025, saying it had not received the 26 December request but had searched its electronic filing system, staff drives and Outlook folders and held no such correspondence; an internal review on 11 February 2025 confirmed that position. The appellant complained to the Information Commissioner under section 50 of FOIA on 21 March 2025. Meanwhile the Certification Officer issued a Show Cause Notice on 30 April 2025 and on 8 September 2025 struck out the complaints against the union as having no reasonable prospect of success. By a Decision Notice of 6 November 2025 the Commissioner found no information was held and required no steps. The appellant appealed.