It will not always be appropriate to publish information and it is our policy not to disclose information where to do so would compromise legitimate interests, such as:

• our commercial interests – part of the British Council operates as a business and consequently the disclosure of business documents or internal business planning information will be subject to restrictions;
  
  
• international relations – the British Council must be sensitive to international and cultural relations; some information we hold must remain confidential;
  
  
• the formulation of government policy - the British Council works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and other government agencies; again, some of this information must remain confidential;
  
  
• an individual’s right to privacy; we will not disclose anything if to do so would infringe  the Data Protection Act;
  
  
• the security of a building or its occupants;
  
  
• continuing contract or tender negotiations.
  
  
• information intended for future publication – we recognise that most information we hold can be released at some stage; however, we will not publish or disclose items prematurely.

Further:

Some publications will have been edited or redacted for publication; we have made this clear in cases where information has been removed and have explained the decision.