## Withholding Information

 
Section 22(1) states that information intended for future publication is exempt information if: 

(a) the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the 
authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not),  
(b) the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when 
the request for information was made, and  
(c) it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld 
from disclosure until the date of publication 
 Section 22 is a qualified exemption which means that the decision to disclose the requested material is subject to a public interest test. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) acknowledges that there is a public interest in demonstrating the transparency of the prosecution process and the performance of the organisation. The time required before the data is published allows for the review and validation of the figures to be included.  To release this data ahead of schedule could compromise the accuracy and completeness of the data and supporting information.