Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation v The Information Commissioner

Facts

The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, the appellant, had refused a request for information made under the Freedom of Information Act. The Information Commissioner, the respondent, investigated the complaint and issued a Decision Notice dated 21 April 2026, reference IC-441221-H8S8, which did not uphold the regulator's reliance on the exemption claimed. The regulator appealed that notice to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber), Information Rights. On appeal it produced further evidence and submissions directed at the nature of the information it receives on a voluntary basis, the value of that information to the discharge of its functions, and the prejudice to the flow of such information that disclosure of the withheld material would be likely to cause. Having reviewed that further material, the Commissioner accepted that section 31(1)(g) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, read with section 31(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, was engaged and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosure. The parties accordingly agreed that the appeal should be allowed, and invited the Tribunal to dispose of the proceedings by consent order. The matter was decided without a hearing.