The Request: A complainant requested access to a specific UK prison’s local operational policies from the Ministry of Justice. [1]The MoJ Refusal: The MoJ refused to comply, citing Section 14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), claiming the request was vexatious or placed a disproportionate burden on the department. [1]

Case Details

The ICO Ruling: The Information Commissioner reviewed the case (Decision Notice IC-392374-H8J8) and ruled that the request was not vexatious. The MoJ was ordered to issue a fresh response without relying on Section 14(1).[1]

What is a Section 14(1) Refusal?

Under the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidelines, Section 14(1) allows UK public authorities to refuse FOI requests if they are deemed “vexatious”. This applies if a request: [1, 2]

• • Imposes a disproportionate burden on public resources or staff time.
  • Lacks any serious purpose or value.
  • Is designed to cause disruption or harassment to the department. [1, 2]

Because Section 14(1) is a high legal threshold, the ICO regularly overturns department decisions if it determines that the public interest or the simplicity of the data request does not genuinely abuse the FOI system. [1, 2]