Requested information not more closely connected with the Minister’s functions—blanket policy to transfer all media requests to Minister unlawful
A communications consultant requested information about certain private individuals and organisations from the Ministry of Education. He sought information ‘held by [the chief executive] or officials’ about those individuals and organisations, and correspondence between ‘[the chief executive] and officials’ and those individuals and organisations, including information about contracts between the Ministry and those organisations. The request was transferred to the Minister of Education on the basis that the information was more closely connected with his functions, and the requester complained to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman investigated the complaint under the Ombudsmen Act 1975 (OA).[1]
In the course of the Ombudsman’s investigation, the Ministry explained that:
Ministerials Unit practice, based on a past directive from the Minister’s office, has been to transfer all [OIA] requests made by members of the media to the Minister’s office.
The Ombudsman stated the fact that an official information request has been made by a member of the media does not, in itself, provide grounds to transfer that request under section 14 of the OIA. The Ombudsman considered the wording of the request, and concluded there was no reasonable basis for the Ministry’s view that the information was more closely connected with the Minister’s functions. The Ministry confirmed that it had revised its processes for transferring requests to the Minister in line with the Ombudsman’s opinion. This case prompted the Ombudsman to comment in our annual report for 2003/04 that ‘...blanket policy decisions of this kind cannot be justified in terms of the OIA. The Act obliges an agency to consider each case separately on its own merits’.
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.
[1] The Ombudsman has no function to investigate complaints about the transfer of requests for official information under the OIA. However, such complaints may be investigated under the OA, provided the agency is subject to that Act.