emphasis) the formulation and development of policy. We find that it does
‘relate to’ the formulation and development of policy.
19.
The public authority in their submissions at paragraph 12(1) of their updated
skeleton dated 12 December 2023 say: “Indeed the whole purpose of using
optimism bias and putting a business case together is to inform policy decisions.”
Similarly, the public authority argue at paragraph 12(9) of that skeleton that
any part of the business case which could be factual information is
inextricably linked to deliberative material. The focus there is on section
35(4) which the Appellant says he is not arguing but we find the point is
relevant to the question of ‘relates to’. If the optimism bias information is
inextricably linked as part and parcel of the business case, then the Tribunal
consider it must fall well within the concept of ‘relates to’.
20.
The Tribunal have the witness statement of Paul Downie, (OB pC99) dated 8
November 2023. Mr Downie is the Programme Director for the Holocaust
Memorial programme responsible for day-to-day management of the
programme, reporting to the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) and through
him to the Department’s Accounting Officer and ultimately to the Secretary
of State. In his statement of evidence, he;
a. identifies the documents within the Department’s possession that fall
within the scope of the Appellant’s information request;
b. provides an overview of the nature of those documents;
c. addresses the public interest in the disclosure of those documents;
d. explains the commercial interests that would be harmed if the documents
were disclosed.
21.
The Tribunal find this evidence compelling both in terms of persuading us
on the engagement of s35(1)(a) and in the balance of the Public Interest Test
14