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John Walker
By Email to [FOI #12295 email]
18 June 2009
Dear Mr Walker
Freedom of Information request - RFI20090762 Thank you for your email of 21 May 2009 requesting salaries and expenses details for all
Newsnight journalists.
The reference number for your request is RFI20090762.
The BBC will not be providing you with the information you requested as we consider that it is
not covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”); further, even if the information
was covered by the Act, it would be exempt from disclosure under section 40(2) of the Act
because disclosure would breach the first Data Protection principle.
Scope of the Act
Part VI of Schedule 1 to FOIA provides that information held by the BBC and the other public
service broadcasters is only covered by the Act if it is held for ‘purposes
other than those of
journalism, art or literature”. The BBC is not required to supply information held for the
purposes of creating the BBC’s output or information that supports and is closely associated with
these creative activities.
1 The BBC considers that this includes information about the costs
involved in creating its output, including fees paid to, and the expenses incurred by journalists who
appear on screen.
Recent decision of the Information Commissioner
The BBC notes two recent decision notices of the Information Commissioner (ref. FS50085710
and FS50067416), involving requests made for payments to BBC talent. In those cases the
1 For more information about how the Act applies to
the BBC please see www.bbc.co.uk/foi. Information which is not
subject to disclosure under the Act because of Schedule I might otherwise be exempt from disclosure because of the
application of other provisions of the Act.
Commissioner considered that those payments (including expenses) did fall within the scope of
the Act. However, the Commissioner decided that the information was exempt from disclosure
under section 40(2) of the Act as he felt that the payment information constituted personal data
and that its disclosure would breach the first data protection principle in the Data Protection Act,
being ‘fair and lawful processing’. The Commissioner found that the payments made to these
individuals did not relate to the performance of a public function which involves spending public
money or taking influential policy decisions. The Commissioner considered that the individuals in
that case had a reasonable expectation that their personal data would not be disclosed and it
would therefore be unfair to do so.
The BBC’s approach to this case
The BBC does not agree with the Commissioner’s decision on the scope of the Act and reserves
its position on the matter; however, the BBC considers that in the event of a similar finding by the
Commissioner in this case, the information you have requested would also be exempt under the
Act under section 40(2) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach
the First Principle (fair and lawful processing) for the reasons outlined above.
Further, The expenses claimed by these individuals do not relate to the performance of a public
function which involves spending public money or taking influential policy decisions. The
individuals involved would not expect the type of information requested to be disclosed to third
parties, and therefore to do so would be unfair.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published guidance on the disclosure of information
about salaries here:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/practical_application/sala
ries_v1.pdf
Appeal Rights
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the
Act. However, if you are not satisfied with our response, you do have the right to appeal to the
Information Commissioner. The contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe
House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk In the event of a finding by the Information Commissioner
that the Act does apply in this case, should you then wish, the BBC is prepared to undertake an
internal review of our decision on the application of section 40 (personal information) to the
information you have requested.
Yours sincerely,
Stephanie Harris
Head of Accountability, BBC News
