The Information Tribunal has ordered the House of Commons to disclose a detailed breakdown of the already published aggregate figure for travel claims by MPs. The House of Commons had refused the original requests for information on the grounds that certain information as to MPs' travel expenses was already disclosed under its publication scheme and disclosure of the additional information would breach the data protection principles of the DPA. It believed that information to be exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the FOIA. The decision adds to emerging case law about the interaction between the DPA and section 40 of the FOIA. The case is also interesting because it is the first time that the Tribunal has considered the question of fairness of processing in detail.

Case: The Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v Information Commissioner, and Norman Baker MP (as an additional party), 16 January 2007.