Internal review: Correspondence with the Civil Service Commission about Emily Middleton
Published 30 August 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foi2024-00256-correspondence-with-the-civil-service-commission-about-emily-middleton/internal-review-correspondence-with-the-civil-service-commission-about-emily-middleton
| Reference number | IR2024-00324 |
|---|---|
| Date of request | 4 September 2024 |
| Date of response | 26 September 2024 |
| Outcome | Information disclosed |
The requestor’s concerns
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (the department) received the following request for an internal review of our original response which we responded to under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA):
Thank you for this, however I would like an internal review.
The section of Middleton’s CV which describes her secondment from Public Digital to Labour, shouldn’t be subject to section 40 as this information is in the public domain. Could you please disclose that section, including how it was presented on her CV?
Given the controversy about her appointment, the legitimate interest in disclosure for transparency purposes outweighs the privacy rights of a person whose public role reduces the expectation of privacy they can have about their professional affairs.
Our decision
The information which was requested is sensitive personal information so we have consulted with the individual who has consented to the disclosure of this information.
The department takes its responsibilities under UK GDPR seriously and so while we are content to release this information as an exception with the consent of the individual, we will continue to engage section 40(2) where appropriate to protect the sensitive personal information of our employees.
Please note that Emily’s secondment to the Labour Party concluded on 4 July 2024. Emily had returned to her role in Public Digital at the time the department shared this CV with the Public Appointment’s Commissioner on 11 July 2024.
Please find below an extract of Emily Middleton’s CV as shared with the Public Appointments Commissioner which describes her secondment from Public Digital to Labour:
Labour Party, London
Adviser (secondment)
JANUARY 2024 – PRESENT
Recruited to lead the Labour Party’s policy work on digital public services reform.