The House of Commons already publishes the total each MP spends
on travel each year, but last year two individuals made a request
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that the information be
broken down into categories of rail, road and air, and rail, road,
air and bicycle respectively.
In both cases the House of Commons refused to release the
information on the basis that it fell under an exemption of the
FOIA, which allows authorities to refuse to reveal information if
to do so would breach the principles of the Data Protection
Act.
According to the House, it would be unfair to disclose the
information in terms of the Data Protection Act (which states that
data should be processed “fairly and lawfully”) because MPs had
been previously told that only a total expenses figure would be
published.
Consequently, said the House, it was exempt from releasing the
breakdown under the FOIA.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas did not agree.
He recognised that in both cases the information requested went
beyond that which had been originally notified to MPs, but
held:
“that the information requested relates to
individuals acting in an official as opposed to a private capacity;
and whilst the information sought is personal data, the disclosure
of this additional information would not impinge on the personal
privacy to which individual MPs are entitled in their private
lives.”
In his opinion, the public interest in having information as to
how elected officials are using public money outweighs any
prejudice that the MPs might suffer as a result – although the
House had not produced evidence of any prejudice that might
occur.
In addition, he said, the disclosure would differ from the
information already disclosed only in that it is a further
breakdown of a total annual figure into four categories.
Disclosure of the information would be fair under the Data
Protection Act and therefore the FOIA exemption did not apply, he
ruled.
The House of Commons has been given 30 days in which to
comply.
