FOI 34-23: Water ingress at Parliament Buildings

Information Standards Freedom of Information Response

Our Ref: FoI 34-23

1 February 2024

Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 20 December 2023 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). In your request, you requested the following information:

 “1.  Copies of any reports and/or assessments relating to the water ingress at Parliament Buildings between January 1 2020 and December 20 2023

2.  The amount spent on repair and maintenance linked to water ingress at Parliament Buildings between January 1 2020 and December 20 2023”

Reports and assessments relating to water ingress at Parliament Buildings

Reports and assessments relating to water ingress at Parliament Buildings between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2023 are held by the Assembly Commission.

These reports were generated for the purpose of obtaining legal advice in relation to proposed litigation. As such they are subject to litigation privilege, a category of legal professional privilege, and exempt from disclosure under section 42(1) of the FOIA.

Section 42(1) is a qualified exemption and the Assembly Commission has considered whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The public interest test

In considering the public interest test, the Assembly Commission has identified the following points in favour of maintaining the exemption:

• A client’s ability to speak freely, frankly and openly about the merits of any litigation contemplated by that client, informed as necessary by expert evidence, is a fundamental element of the legal system and the administration of justice.
• As such, there is a strong element of public interest inbuilt into maintaining and safeguarding legal professional privilege itself.
• The reports were generated for proposed legal proceedings.  Those proposed proceedings are now active proceedings before the High Court.
  • The disclosure of the reports otherwise in accordance with directions of the High Court could prejudice the legal position of the Assembly Commission in those proceedings.

The Assembly Commission has identified the following points in favour of disclosing the information:

• Disclosure of information held by public authorities is generally in the public interest in order to promote transparency and accountability.
• Disclosure of information held by public authorities can aid in understanding the reason why certain decisions were made, as can disclosure of the advice which informed those decisions.

The Assembly Commission has concluded in this case that the public interest in maintaining the section 42 exemption in respect of reports generated for legal proceedings outweighs the general public interest in transparency about the work of public bodies.

The amount spent on repair and maintenance linked to water ingress at Parliament Buildings.

The information is not held in the format requested. The Assembly Commission has not yet undertaken any repairs and maintenance works to address the water ingress. A range of remedial and further investigatory works are currently in the planning stage.

Some minor cleaning and redecoration works have been carried out in two locations that were affected. These works have been carried out as part of a larger renovation project and therefore the cost is estimated to be £2600.

You have the right to request an internal review by the Assembly Commission and if you wish to do so, please write to me at the above address. If after the internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF which will undertake an independent review.

The Assembly Commission may publish details of your FOI request and its official response within the organisational disclosure log. The request will be completely anonymised and you will not be identified in any way. This is to meet the requirements as laid out by in the agreed publication scheme with the Information Commissioners’ Office.

Yours sincerely

Data Protection and Governance Officer