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23 August 2010

Summary of Request

The Authority was asked for details of the legal advice upon which its decision to cease the disclosure of donor codes was based.

HFEA Response

You have asked for details of the legal advice on which the Authority's decision regarding the disclosure of donor codes was based.
 
The Authority took this decision on 7 July 2010.  A paper dealing with donor codes and a number of other issues to do with the Authority's donation review was presented to the Authority; see item number 9 (Donation Review) on the agenda.  This paper and others presented to the Authority at that meeting are avalable at this link http://www.hfea.gov.uk/5988.html.  The minutes of that meeting which will record the Authority's decision will be made available on the website once they have been signed off at the Authority's next meeting on 8 September 2010.
 
The legal advice you have requested is held by the Authority however this advice is covered by legal professional privilege and is therefore exempt from disclosure under section 42(1) FOIA.  Account has been taken of the public interest test; information can only be witheld if the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in diclosure. 
 
In reaching the decision to withold this information, the Authority has weighed your interest in seeking to know the basis of the Authority's decision not to disclose donor codes against the Authority's legitimate interest in maintaining the privilege and the strong public interest built into the concept of legal professional privilege itself. 

The Authority paper referred to above provides sufficient information and makes reference to pertinent elements of the Authority's legal advice such as to allow you to understand the basis of the Authority's decision without reference to the legal advice itself.  Furthermore, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the legal privilege is enhanced by the fact that were the Authority to face a legal challenge to its decision not to diclose donor codes, any prior disclosure of its legal advice on the subject is likely to severely prejudice the Authority in any litigation proceedings. 

The issue of donor codes remains a live issue and therefore at this point, the Authority cannot reasonably discount the possibility of a legal challenge to its decision. 
 
For these reasons, it is considered that the public interest in disclosure is outweighed by the public interest in witholding the information and accordingly, the legal advice is witheld under section 42(1).

 

Page last updated: 09 August 2012

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