FOI 45-25: Information in regards to whether the Committee for the Economy has asked the Employment Tribunal for its annual report since 2012
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
8 August 2025
Our ref: FoI 45-25
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”)
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 9 July 2025 in line with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). In your request, you asked:
“1. Has the Committee for the Economy asked the Employment Tribunal for its annual reports since 2012? These have been withheld against statutory protocol, as I am aware.
2. Please also share with me all communication between the Committee for the Economy and Department for the Economy since Nov 2024 on the matter of disabled litigants in the tribunal and update me on what the Committee has done since Nov 2024's briefing on the matters revealed to them.”
Our response
Question 1
The Assembly Commission holds some information in relation to your request. The Ministerial correspondence provided in Appendix A (attached) indicates that the production of annual reports by the Office of the Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals (‘OITFET’) is not a statutory obligation but also notes that OITFET intends to procure a new case management system capable of providing such information.
In order to provide advice and assistance, pursuant to section 16 of the FOIA , the Assembly Commission suggests you consider the links below which may be relevant to your request or provide your with further useful insight.
Contacts | Industrial Tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal Northern Ireland
Contact details to request a copy of the Annual Report.
DAO (DoF) 01/25 - Accounts Directions for 2024-25
Directions for the preparation of Annual Reports and Accounts are set by the Department of Finance
FD (DoF) 03/25 - Laying of Annual Reports and Accounts in the Northern Ireland Assembly
The Process for laying the Annual Reports and Accounts are also set by the Department of Finance.
Question 2
The Assembly Commission holds some information in relation the Economy Committee’s actions as disclosed at the evidence session of 13 November 2024. The Committee has corresponded with the Minister and the President of the Employment Tribunal and has shared relevant responses with Disability Action. These actions were noted in the Committee’s published minutes. This information, and the Committee’s correspondence with the Department, is attached within the remaining documents in Appendix A.
S.40 Personal information
Some of the information which you have requested relates to personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) and the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). This information which you requested is personal data because it is information relating to one or more identifiable living individuals and has therefore been redacted from Appendix A. This information is the contact details of the relevant Departmental Assembly Liaison Official (‘DALO’) and the Ministerial signature.
The Assembly Commission considers this information to be exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the FOIA, whereby personal data is exempt from disclosure in certain circumstances. Section 40(2) of the FOIA provides that any information is exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject and satisfies one of the three conditions. The relevant condition is set out at section 40(3A) of the FOIA: the disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles.
The Assembly Commission is satisfied that the disclosure of this information would be unlawful under Article 5 of the UK GDPR, because its processing is not necessary for any of the purposes set out at Article 6 of the UK GDPR.
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
INFORMATION STANDARDS
