Ranil Jayawardena MP – receipt for claim 60151444-3

I can confirm that we hold information relevant to your request.

A copy of the receipt for claim reference 60151444-3 has been provided as an attachment to the email accompanying this letter.

Some information has been redacted and is subject to a refusal notice under sections 31 and 40 of the FOIA, and in accordance with Section C of IPSA’s Publication Policy, which can be found in our Publication Policy.

Exemptions

Section 31(1)(a) – law enforcement

This exemption applies where the disclosure of information would or would be likely to prejudice the prevention of crime.

IPSA relies on this exemption to withhold the banking details of suppliers and other transactional references.

IPSA believes that the disclosure of these details could leave those concerned more vulnerable to financial crime, in particular fraud and electronic crime, especially with the increase in cyber-attacks.

This exemption is subject to a public interest test. IPSA does not consider that the withholding of this information has a negative impact on the understanding of these claims.

We therefore find that the public interest in withholding this information outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

Sections 40(2) and 40(3A)(a) – personal data

This exemption applies to information within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (UK GDPR).

IPSA considered that the following are personal data within this definition: private addresses of MPs.

We then considered whether disclosure of this personal data would breach any of the Principles relating to the processing of personal data in the UK GDPR.

As IPSA was unable to find a lawful basis on which it could rely, within Article 6 of the UK GDPR, it therefore finds that the information is exempt under section 40.