Copies of receipts for equipment purchases by MPs

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request.

Copies of the invoices and receipts requested have been attached to the email accompanying this letter.

Some information has been redacted from the documents and is subject to a Refusal Notice under sections 31 and 40, and in accordance with Section C of IPSA’s Publication Policy.

Section 31(1)(a) – law enforcement

This exemption applies where the disclosure of information would or would be likely to prejudice the prevention of crime. IPSA relies on this exemption to withhold the banking details of the supplier and other transactional information such as order references.

IPSA believes that the disclosure of these details could leave those concerned more vulnerable to financial crime, in particular fraud and electronic crime, especially with an increase in cyber-attacks and online fraud.

This exemption is subject to a public interest test. IPSA does not consider withholding this information would have a negative impact on the understanding of these claims.

We, therefore, find that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

Sections 40(2) and 40(3A)(a) – personal data

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 considers that the following are personal data within this definition:

• names of MPs' staff members, and

• the private contact details and addresses of MPs and their staff

We then considered whether disclosure of this personal data would breach any of the Principles relating to the processing of personal data in the UK GDPR.

The relevant principle is 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.