Information Commissioner's Office

Brightlingsea Town Council

31 March 2008, Local government (Town council)

The complainant requested the Council to release a copy of the report submitted by the chartered surveyor which undertook the rent review of the caravan park at which she resides. The Council considered the request and refused to disclose the information citing sections 42 and 43 of the Act. The requested information is made up of 17 separate documents, each labelled 1 to 17. Documents 1, 2, 5 and 11 were later released by the Council; the Commissioner has therefore reviewed the remaining information and considered the Council’s application of the exemptions cited. Concerning the application of section 42, the Commissioner has concluded that this exemption applies to documents 3, 6, 8, 14 and 16 and that the public interest rests in maintaining this exemption for these documents. For the remaining documents, those labelled 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 17; the Commissioner has considered the Council’s application of section 43 of the Act. He has concluded that, with the exception of some information contained in documents 10 and 12, section 43 of the Act does not apply. The Commissioner has therefore ordered the Council to disclose these documents to the complainant within 35 days of this Notice. For the small amount of information contained in documents 10 and 12, the Commissioner has concluded that section 43 of the Act is engaged and that the public interest rests in maintaining this exemption for this specific information. The Commissioner has therefore requested the Council to release redacted versions of these documents to the complainant within 35 days of this Notice.

FOI 17: Upheld