Freedom of Information Team
S1715
6 Floor
Central Mail Unit
Mr Adam Bridgen
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
Email
xxx.xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Web
www.gov.uk
Date: 17 May 2021
Our ref:
FOI2021/03008
Dear Mr Bridgen
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Thank you for your request, which was received on 5 March, for the following information:
“HMRC's Counter-Avoidance department issues newsletters/updates on a monthly/periodic
basis - which are published on the organisation's intranet for staff to read - and which are
then archived for future reference.
Please supply full versions of all newsletters/updates issued by the Counter-Avoidance
department, written by either the Director, Deputy Director or a guest/substitute, between
January 2018 and March 2021, also ensuring that any junior staff member's names are
redacted in order to avoid the identification of individuals and that only senior civil service
official's names are retained.”
Our response
We can confirm we hold some information within the scope of your request – updates are
written periodically by Directors, Deputy Directors, or guests substituting for them. We have
therefore provided all Counter-Avoidance intranet updates written by the Directors, Deputy
Directors, or guests substituting for them between January 2018 and March 2021.
Some content has been withheld under specific FOIA exemptions. The reasoning for this is
explained further under the headings below.
Section 40(2)
Information relating to identifiable individuals is considered personal data under the UK
General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). Personal information that breaches an
expectation of privacy if revealed is exempt from disclosure under
section 40(2)(b) of the
FOIA, on the basis that disclosure would contravene the data protection principles (as
described under FOIA section 40(3A)(a)). This part of the section 40 exemption is absolute
and we are not required to consider any public interest arguments for and against
disclosure.
Article 5(1)(a) of the UK GDPR requires that personal information is processed lawfully, fairly
and in a transparent manner; processing includes disclosure. Fairness means personal data
should only be handled in ways that people would reasonably expect and not used in ways
that may adversely affect them. Staff sharing personal information with employees would
Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats.
OFFICIAL
Text Relay service prefix number – 18001
reasonably expect that their personal data, or anything that risks revealing their identity,
would not be put into the public domain. Such a disclosure would be unfair processing.
Section 44(1)(a)
Information that either identifies or risks identifying a “person” is exempt from release under
section 44(1)(a) of the FOIA, which applies when information is prohibited from disclosure by
other legislation. In this instance, the relevant legislation is
section 23(1) of the
Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).
When deciding whether we are prohibited from releasing information under section 23(1)
CRCA, we are required to consider two questions:
• is the requested information held in connection with one of our functions? And
• does the information relate to a "person" who is identified, or who could be identified
from the information requested?
CRCA explanatory note 110 makes clear the term "person" includes both natural and legal
persons, so, for example, entities such as companies, trusts and charities.
In this case, the answers to both questions is "Yes". First, references in some updates to
these identifiable persons is in relation to our function of the assessment and collection of
tax. Second, the information in some updates identifies individual entities or refers to them in
way that would risk their identification.
Accordingly, the section 44(1)(a) FOIA exemption is engaged and our duty of confidentiality
under
section 18(1) of the CRCA removes any possibility of disclosure.
If you are not satisfied with this reply you may request a review within two months by
emailing
xxx.xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx, or by writing to the address at the top right-hand side of
this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review you can
complain to the
Information Commissioner’s Office. Yours sincerely,
HM Revenue and Customs
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