Request for information about the staff of MP Nicola Richards

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request, but it is subject to a Refusal Notice under sections 21, 22 and 40 of the FOIA.

Section 21

This exemption applies where information is reasonably accessible by other means. Information about Ms Richards’ staffing for the period 2019-20 can be found on our website.

Section 22(1)

This exemption applies where information is intended for future publication. IPSA will publish information for the period 2020-21 in accordance with its Publication Policy. Section 22(1) is a qualified exemption and requires us to consider the public interest. Information about MPs’ staffing is useful in providing an understanding about the operation of their office, however because IPSA publishes this information on a regular basis, and in accordance with its Publication Policy, we find that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

Section 40(2) and 40(3A)(a)

This exemption applies to information which IPSA considers to be personal data within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (UK GDPR) which states,

“personal data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly

IPSA relies on this exemption to withhold specific information which you requested, namely the names of the MPs’ staff, start and end date of employment; it is also the reason this level of detail is not published on our website. The reason IPSA relies on section 40 is that the numbers of staff employed by Ms Richards’ are so low that there is a risk that more specific information would enable these individuals to be identified.

IPSA considered whether disclosure of this personal data would breach any of the Principles of processing personal data in the UK GDPR. The relevant principle falls at Article 5(1)(a),

Personal data shall be:

a. Processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject

As IPSA was unable to find a lawful basis on which it could rely, with Article 6 of the UK GDPR, it therefore finds that the information is exempt under section 40.