Private sector calls for FoI confidentiality tags. Exclusive: Information professional urges DCA to issue guidance on records management, finds .(Freedom of Information, )

An information professional responsible for sharing sensitive commercial information with public bodies is calling for safeguards to ensure that confidential information is not inadvertently made public under the Freedom of Information Act.

Kevin Miles, head of knowledge management at Transport Research Laboratory (TLR), told IWR: "We're not a public authority, but 70% of our work is for public authorities, so our information is going to go into the public sector domain via our customers." TRL works with a number of public bodies including Transport for London (TfL).

Miles warned: "Because of the complexity of marking information that we have a duty of confidentiality to, it may be disclosed - and if it were disclosed we would sue the public body for the disclosure."

He added: "I think this is a fundamental issue for records management staff in both the public and private sectors. If we can't get clear guidance from the DCA then we need to drive the issue ourselves and set the standards we need in order to do our work."

Miles has been asking public authorities that have provided FoI guidance how they wish to be informed of sensitive information within the documents and emails exchanged during the course of their business.

He said: "Some public authorities have told us they intend to consult us whenever any ...