A Record Withheld in Full Explained

Where the organisation withholds a record in full under an exemption, the response states why no part of it could be disclosed.

Criterion: H6
Level: Level 2
Domain: Redaction and Exemptions
Reflects: Article 5(2)

Intent

Withholding a record in full is the most an exemption can do. Saying why no part of it could be disclosed shows the exemption was applied to the material, not to the file.

How to test it

An assessor scores the criterion against a single response:

Score 2: The response says why no part of the withheld record could be disclosed.
Score 1: The response names the exemption for the record without saying why none of it could be released.
Score 0: A record was withheld in full and the response does not say why.
Not applicable: The organisation withheld no record in full.

The law it reflects

This criterion reflects Article 5(2) of the UK GDPR. That mapping is a guide, not a legal test: conformance is judged against the criterion, not the article.

See H6 in context in the full standard.