FOI 38-24: Correspondence sent by the NI Assembly standards commissioner to the Standards and Privileges Committee in relation to a complaint against former MLA Patrick Brown
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our Ref: FOI 38-24
21 August 2024
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 31 July 2024 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). In your request, you asked:
“Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request details regarding correspondence sent by the NI Assembly standards commissioner to the Standards and Privileges Committee in relation to a complaint against former MLA Patrick Brown.
The committee's report is detailed here:
At point 50 under "Supplementary Issues", the committee notes it considered correspondence the Commissioner had "received from a public representative, which was likely to raise a further matter regarding the respondent's conduct in relation to the complaint case".
The report makes clear this correspondence will not be the subject of, or linked to, any further investigation, as both the committee and commissioner had concluded it would be "not an effective use of public resources to pursue this further matter".
Therefore, please disclose the following:
1. The name of the "public representative" referred to in point 50.
2. The political party of the public representative.
3. The elected position of the public representative (i.e. whether they're an MP, MLA or councillor).
4. The date on which this correspondence from a public representative was received by the commissioner.”
Our response
The Assembly Commission holds the information requested.
It is not correct to state that this correspondence will not be the subject of, or linked to, any further investigation. There is no further investigation into Mr Brown, but this correspondence now forms part of a referral made to the Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards (the Commissioner) by the Committee on Standards and Privileges (the Committee) on a related matter.
Accordingly, the information requested is exempt from publication under section 22 of the FOIA because it is held with a view to its publication as part of the Commissioner’s report on the referral, it was already intended to publish that information as part of the report, and it is reasonable in the circumstances to allow the Commissioner to complete that report.
Under the Assembly’s standing orders, the Commissioner investigates admissible complaints and referrals and provides the Committee with her investigation reports. Under the Assembly Members (Independent Financial Review and Standards) Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, the Assembly is required to publish all reports by the Commissioner. Such reports are published on the Assembly website.
Public Interest Test
Section 22 is a qualified exemption and is subject to the public interest test provided for in section 2(2)(b) of the FOIA. The Assembly Commission has considered whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
There is a public interest in maintaining the section 22 exemption because:
(i) the Assembly has established clear structures for the investigation of alleged standards issues to ensure natural justice and procedural fairness for all parties involved,
(ii) the Commissioner should have an opportunity to conduct a full investigation of this matter and come to an independent conclusion before the information is published, and
(iii) there is a statutory duty to publish the report containing the information when it has been provided to the Assembly by the Commissioner.
There is a public interest in disclosing this information now because
(i) the conduct of elected Members of the Assembly in their public role is a matter of legitimate interest, and
(ii) openness and transparency in the operation of a legislature is to be encouraged.
In this case, the Assembly Commission is satisfied that the public interest in maintaining the section 22 exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the requested information.
Further information
You have the right to request an internal review of this decision by the Assembly Commission. If you wish to request such a review, please write to me at the above address. If, after that review, you are dissatisfied with the way in which the Assembly Commission has handled your request for information, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Your request for information and our response may be published in the disclosure log maintained by the Assembly Commission under a publication scheme agreed with the ICO. The request and our response will be anonymised.
Yours sincerely
Data Protection and Governance Officer
