Information Commissioner's Office

Warwick District Council

7 December 2016, Local government (District council)

The complainant made a number of requests relating to the enforcement of particular planning conditions. The Council dealt with the requests in a single response. The Council provided some information but withheld other information under the exceptions provided by regulation 12(3) – third party personal data and regulation 12(5)(b) - adverse affect on the course of justice. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation the Council identified some additional information relating to the legal advice it had received, but argued that it did not hold this information for the purposes of the EIR. It went on to argue that if the Commissioner deemed this information was held, some of it was exempt under regulation 12(5)(b) and some of it under  regulation 12(4)(e) – internal communications. It also applied regulation 12(4)(e) to one of the pieces of information it had originally held under 12(5)(b). In respect of information on certain tests which the complainant was particularly interested in, the Council claimed that some of that information was covered by the exception provided by 12(5)(b) whilst other information on the tests was not held. The complainant did not challenge the application of the regulation 12(3) – personal data. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council does hold the information identified during her investigation for the purposes of the EIR. The Council is entitled to withhold the information to which it has applied regulation 12(5)(b). This includes the information it had originally located and that which it discovered during the investigation. It is also entitled to withhold some of the information to which it has applied regulation 12(4)(e). However 12(4)(e) is not engaged in respect of one piece of information, the notes of a meeting. In respect of the information on the tests, the Commissioner is satisfied that some of that information is not held and that the remaining information is exempt under regulation 12(5)(b). The Commissioner finds that the Council’s responses to the request were well outside the time limits which constitute breaches of both regulations 5(2) and 14(2). The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the information contained in the meeting note. It may redact any personal data that it is necessary to.

EIR 5(2): Upheld EIR 12(4)(e): Partly upheld EIR 12(5)(b): Not upheld EIR 14(2): Upheld