Richard Holt v The Information Commissioner & Anor

Facts

The appellant, Richard Holt, a genealogical researcher, requested from NHS England on 20 December 2023 a copy of one right-hand page of a Transcript Book forming part of the 1939 Register, a census-like manual record adopted by the NHS in 1948 to track patient movements and updated until the digitisation of NHS records in 1991, which passed to the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2008, became NHS Digital in 2016 and merged with NHS England in 2023. The page covers 44 individuals; the request sought information about 40 of them, four entries being expressly excluded. The authority first responded on 2 February 2024 with a redacted microfiche copy and later relied on section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In a decision notice of 12 November 2024 the Commissioner rejected that reliance; the authority then issued revised responses withholding material under section 21, section 40(2) and section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In the decision notice of 11 July 2025 under appeal the Commissioner held the authority entitled to rely on section 21 for death registration data save for the sub-district codes, which were duly disclosed. The appellant appealed.