§ Rob MarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidance her Department issues to civil servants on how to deal with claims from organisations that the information they provide to the Department is commercially confidential. [105560]
§ Ms HewittIt is not standard practice to verify claims of commercial confidentiality on receiving information from organisations as this issue is normally only relevant if the question arises as to whether the information should be disclosed to another party.
The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and the guidance on the operation of the Code helps officials determine whether such information should be disclosed or withheld in response to an individual request. Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice specifically exempts a third party's commercial confidences. The Code and accompanying guidance is available to staff on the DTI intranet.
While it is ultimately for my Department to determine, in accordance with the Code, whether to disclose information in response to requests we receive, third parties whose interests may be adversely affected a re normally consulted in order to inform the Department's decision.
Similar considerations apply if the information requested is environmental information which is subject to the Environmental Information Regulations as distinct from the Code of Practice.