An unsuccessful applicant to the Marsden Fund sought information relating to the decision to not progress his application past the preliminary round. The Ombudsman accepted that the reasons that had been provided to the requester were as detailed as they could be in the circumstances, given the information available. However, the Ombudsman said that good administrative practice required that sufficient records be created and maintained to ensure the statutory obligations of section 23 of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) can be better met, including more detailed recording of information by the Panels in the future.
This case note is published under the authority of the Ombudsmen Rules 1989 opens page in this tab. It sets out an Ombudsman’s view on the facts of a particular case. It should not be taken as establishing any legal precedent that would bind an Ombudsman in future.