The Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber) in IC v Miller [2018] UKUT 229 (AAC) has rejected an appeal brought by the Information Commissioner (IC), which was in relation to a First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) decision finding that “small data” (i.e., data concerning five or fewer individuals or households) was not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

The FTT decision

A request for disclosure under FOIA was made to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) (then named Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)). The request for information concerned data held by local authorities with regards to homelessness between 2009 and 2012, which had not been published by the MHCLG. The MHCLG refused to disclose the data.

The matter went to the FTT, which found that the small data did not constitute “personal data”, as defined by section 1(1) of the DPA 1998, and it was not exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of FOIA.

The IC appealed the FTT’s decision on various grounds, including that in relation to small data, the information was exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of FOIA.Continue Reading Upper Tribunal says “small data” is not exempt under FOIA