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Jeremy Scott-Joynt successfully defends HM Land Registry in First-Tier Tribunal

Jeremy Scott-Joynt successfully defends HM Land Registry in First-Tier Tribunal

The judgment has been published in the case of Stiebel Lethbridge Ltd v the Information Commissioner & another [2024] UKFTT 1152 (GRC), in which a refusal by HM Land Registry (HMLR) to provide information to an asset reunification company led to an appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (the FTT). Jeremy Scott-Joynt represented the HM Land Registry.

The case, heard in December, arose after the appellant (SLL) sought information outside the usual statutory channels from HMLR about registered properties. Those channels carry a standard charge. SLL sought the information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA) instead: a strategy which – if successful – could have undermined the statutory charging structure and compelled HMLR to supply large amounts of information for free.

HMLR acknowledged that problems in some of its processes meant that there had been delays in providing information through the statutory channels and apologised for them, but nonetheless refused SLL’s requests. SLL complained to the Information Commissioner (the IC), which agreed with HMLR’s decision. SLL duly appealed to the FTT.

At the hearing (at which the IC did not appear), Jeremy argued that SLL’s case failed on three main bases: 

  • Firstly, the nature of the specific material SLL said it was seeking amounted to information which HMLR did not hold but would have to create: lists of documents which took skill and experience to generate. This, in accordance with s1 FoIA and the IC’s own guidance, was not amenable to a FoIA request.
  • Secondly, the underlying material – deeds, title documents and correspondence generally held on paper rather than electronically due to their age – fell within the absolute exemption in s21 FoIA, since it was material which HMLR was required by an enactment to supply. SLL’s argument against this was flawed because of a fundamental misunderstanding of sections 66 to 69 of the Land Registration Act 2002 and the accompanying Rules.
  • Thirdly, SLL was wrong to suggest that because HMLR had provided the information sought on a small number of previous requests, it was compelled to keep doing so. Long-standing authority (such as Ingle v Information Commissioner and Cambridgeshire County Council [2023] UKUT 80 (AAC)) showed that an authority was entitled to rely on exemptions even if it had not relied on them before.

The FTT agreed with Jeremy’s submissions, rejecting all five grounds on which SLL had brought its appeal. The outcome protected HMLR from the risk that FoIA requests could provide a form of “back door” to getting information for which the 2003 Act and its rules normally allowed a charge to be made, at significant cost in both resources and public funds.

Find out more

Jeremy specialises in information law matters and business crime, regulatory and sanctions work, as well as health & safety and connected commercial matters. He appears in courts and tribunals at all levels across the civil, criminal and regulatory jurisdictions, both led and unled. He advises regulators, government departments, corporates and individuals across these areas.

To find out more about Jeremy, contact Andy Hunter on +44 (0)20 7427 4905 for a confidential discussion.

News 20 Jan, 2025

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Jeremy Scott-Joynt

Call: 2018

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