Safe Speed Forums

Freedom of Information and Type Approval

The Home Office aims to ensure that the Type Approval process is open and transparent. All the above information is publicly available free of charge.

However, the detailed technical information supplied to HOSDB by speedmeter manufacturers is exempt from disclosure under sections 41 and 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Section 41 of the FOI Act provides that information is exempt if the information was provided in confidence to the department and where its release could be considered an actionable breach of confidence. Section 43(2) of the FOI Act provides that information is exempt if 'its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it).'

Section 43(2) of the FOI Act is a qualified exemption and therefore the prejudice test and the public interest test have to be applied. The Home Office has judged that it would prejudice the commercial interests of speedmeter manufacturers if the information supplied by them were to be released. We also have evidence that the disclosure of such information would make it less likely that companies, or individuals, would provide us with commercially sensitive information in the future, undermining the ability of the Home Office to fulfill its role in type approving speedmeter devices. Section 41 is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does not apply.