FOI 14-26: A request for copies of all correspondence between Tom Armstrong, Michael Potter and Paula Bradshaw on 23 October 2024
Information Standards Freedom of Information Response
Our ref: FoI 14-26
20 April 2026
Freedom of Information Act 2000
I am writing to confirm that the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission (Assembly Commission) has processed your request dated 5 March 2026 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Your request was as follows:
‘...Under the [FOIA]I request copies of all correspondence, including emails, messages, attachments, text messages, WhatsApp messages and notes of conversations between Tom Armstrong, Michael Potter (then Clerks to the Committee for the Executive Office) and the Chair of the Committee for the Executive Office, Paula Bradshaw, relating to the meeting between the First Minister and the Chair of the Committee on 23rd October 2024.
Please also include any notes or records of telephone or in person conversations (for example file notes or diary entries) between the Clerk and the Chair relating to the meeting or the drafting or approval of any minute or note of that meeting.’
Our response
The Assembly Commission holds information in relation to this request.
Emails and attachments
Emails and attachments are held by the Assembly Commission, relating to the meeting between the First Minister and the Chair of the Committee on 23rd October 2024. These are included in Appendix A.
Text messages
The timeline sets out the following text messages between the Clerk and the Chair:
23/10/24 07:13 – Clerk to Chair to confirm receipt of the invitation.
23/10/24 time N/A – Chair to Clerk agreeing to meet.
23/10/24 08:22 – Clerk to Chair with time of meeting.
These messages were not arranged using devices provided by the Assembly Commission and the text of these messages is not held by the Assembly Commission.[1]
WhatsApp messages
No WhatsApp messages are held by the Assembly Commission in relation to these matters.
Notes of conversations
No notes of conversations are held by the Assembly Commission in relation to these matters.
Notes or records of telephone or in person conversations
No notes or records of telephone or in person conversations are held by the Assembly Commission in relation to these matters.
Certain information redacted from the Appendix is exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the FOIA, which provides that information is exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject and satisfies one of three conditions. ‘Personal data’ is defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
The Assembly Commission is satisfied that the condition set out at section 40(3A)(a) of FOIA is satisfied in respect of the information withheld. The condition is that ‘disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act…would contravene any of the data protection principles…’
The data protection principles are set out at Article 5 of the UK GDPR. The first principle is that processing of personal data must be fair, lawful and transparent. Processing is ‘lawful’ under the first principle if it satisfies one or more of the conditions at Article 6 of the UK GDPR.
The Assembly Commission does not consider that any condition at Article 6 would allow the lawful disclosure of the names and contact details of relatively junior Assembly Commission or Northern Ireland Civil Service employees who have not consented to their information being released.
Further Information
You may 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
