FOI release

Annex B: Legitimate interests assessment

Published 10 October 2024

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This publication is available at /government/publications/foi2024-00388-declarations-of-interest-for-matt-clifford-and-saul-klein/annex-b-legitimate-interests-assessment

Legitimate interest test:

Is the requestor, or the third-party seeking access to the information, pursuing a legitimate interest? 

The test under section 40 of the FOIA is to consider disclosure “otherwise than under” FOIA. Therefore, the department must consider the legitimate interest in disclosing the requested information and what purpose this serves.

We have inferred from your request that you have made this request for information because you have a legitimate interest in reviewing the recorded information which we hold which supports our statement that ‘Both Matt Clifford and Saul Klein have declared all relevant conflicts of interest with the Department’s permanent secretary, as is required with such appointments’. We consider that our disclosure of the outside interests declared by Matt Clifford and Saul Klein in this response supports this legitimate interest.

However, we do not consider that you have a legitimate interest in requesting the following information which we are withholding under section 40(2) of the FOIA. This information includes but is not limited to:

  • The names and contact information of officials who are not senior civil servants
  • The personal address of an individual
  • The value of an individual’s shareholdings
  • The banking arrangements of an individual

This is because we do not believe that seeking access to this sensitive personal information would not be in pursuance of the legitimate interest to understand the interests declared by Matt Clifford and Saul Klein. We do not believe it is necessary to understand the specific value of an individual’s declared shareholdings in order to access whether it has been properly disclosed.

Necessity test

Is disclosure necessary to meet those interests? 

Necessary means more than desirable but less than indispensable. It involves considering alternative measures which can meet the relevant legitimate interests and therefore make disclosure of the requested information unnecessary.

As we cannot identify a legitimate interest to disclose this information, we are not required to complete a necessity test.

Balancing test:

Do the legitimate interests outweigh the interests and rights of the individual? 

The balancing test involves considering whether the legitimate interests served by the disclosure outweigh “the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require the protection of personal data”.

As we cannot identify a legitimate interest to disclose this information, we are not required to complete a balancing test.

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