Information Commissioner's Office

Cabinet Office

15 December 2008, Central government

The complainant requested information relating to contact between the Prime Minister’s Office and Shell, and/or its subsidiary Sakhalin Energy, about the Sakhalin 2 project. The Cabinet Office confirmed that it held a number of pieces of information but it considered this information to be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the exemptions contained at sections 27(1)(a), (c) and (d); section 41; and section 43(2) of the Act. Having reviewed the information withheld by the Cabinet Office the Commissioner concluded that some, though not all, of the information falling within the scope of the request was in fact environmental as defined by regulation 2(1)(c) of the EIR. The Commissioner therefore asked the Cabinet Office to confirm which exceptions within the EIR it would seek to rely on to withhold this information. The Cabinet Office cited the exceptions contained at regulations 12(4)(e);12(5)(a);12(5)(d);12(5)(e);12(5)(f) and 12(5)(g). The Commissioner has concluded that the Cabinet Office was correct to withhold the information that falls within the scope of the Act on the basis of exemptions contained at section 27(1)(a), (c) and (d) and was also correct to withhold the information that falls within the scope of the EIR on the basis of regulation 12(4)(a). However, the Commissioner has also concluded that in dealing with this request the Cabinet Office breached a number of procedural requirements of both the Act and the EIR.

FOI 17: Upheld FOI 27: Not upheld EIR 5: Upheld