The complainant requested legal advice received by the public authority. The public authority applied section 42 of the Freedom of Information Act to withhold the information. The Commissioner found that the request should have been dealt with under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. He considered that the exception under regulation 12(5)(b) of those Regulations did not apply as legal professional privilege had been waived due to the public authority publishing a summary of the legal advice in a report available on its website. Since regulation 12(5)(b) was not engaged, there was no need for the Commissioner to consider the public interest test under regulation 12(1)(b) of the Regulations. Therefore, the Commissioner ordered the public authority to disclose the information.
EIR 5: Upheld
Citations:
[2007] UKICO FER0082136
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 24 March 2022; Ref: scu.532990