Speaker's Office travel (2019)
Request
- The total travel costs for the Commons Speaker, the Deputy Speaker (chairman of ways and means) and the other two deputies broken down by role, year and by trip destination and length since July 2017
- I would also like the accommodation costs for all of the relevant trips, broken down by trip, and the stated purpose of the trip
Response
1) The total travel costs for the Commons Speaker, the Deputy Speaker (chairman of ways and means) and the other two deputies broken down by role, year and by trip destination and length since July 2017
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2) I would also like the accommodation costs for all of the relevant trips, broken down by trip, and the stated purpose of the trip
This information is held by the House of Commons.
The requested information relating to the Chairman of Ways and Means, the First Deputy Chairman and the Second Deputy Chairman since July 2017.
It contains return travel and accommodation costs, and is broken down by role, year, and trip destination, as requested.
The requested information relating to travel and accommodation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, for the period from July 2017 until December 2018, is already publicly available on the Speaker's transparency pages. As the information you request is reasonably accessible to you otherwise than under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), your request is refused. In refusing your request the House is applying the exemption set out in section 21 (1) and (2) (a) of the FOIA. This is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does not apply.
The requested information relating to the Speaker from 01 January 2019 until 31 June 2019 is due to be published on the above page bin the beginning of September 2019. Information from 01 July to 17 July will be published by the end of October 2019.
Therefore, the information you have requested is being withheld under section 22 (intended for future publication) of the Act. Section 22 is a qualified exemption, and accordingly we have to consider whether the public interest is in withholding the information or in disclosing it.
The argument in favour of releasing information is that there is a public interest in being able to scrutinise aspects of the House of Commons where that information might be easy to access and will not prejudice the House. Against disclosure the public interest is in permitting public authorities to publish information in a manner and form and at a time of their own choosing. It is a part of the effective conduct of public affairs that the general publication of information is a conveniently planned and managed activity within the reasonable control of public authorities. Where the decision has been made in principle to publish, there is a reasonable entitlement to make arrangements to do so.