Section 37: Communications With Her Majesty, With Other Members Of The
Royal Household, And The Conferring By The Crown Of Any Honour Or Dignity
Section 37 applies to two categories of information:
Information relating to communications with Her Majesty, other members
of the Royal Family or the Royal Household; and
Information relating to the conferring by the Crown of any honour
or dignity.
Key points:
It is a fundamental constitutional principle that communications between
the Queen and her Ministers are essentially confidential in nature:
in most situations, the public interest in disclosure is likely only
exceptionally to outweigh the public interest in maintaining this aspect
of the exemption;
In respect of both parts of this exemption, public authorities should
be alive to the need to consult relevant departments or private offices;
Section 37 is subject to a public interest balance.
