The complainant has requested information concerning the value of the chains of office of the mayor and mayoress of Bristol, which were stolen in 2020. The council initially claimed that the exemption in section 31(1)(a) of FOIA applied (prevention and detection of crime). During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, however, it changed its position to state that some information is not held, and to apply section 31(3) to neither confirm or deny whether other relevant information is held. The Commissioner’s decision is that the council was not correct to apply section 31(3). She has also decided that the council did not comply with the requirements of section 10(1) in that it did not provide its response to the request within 20 working days. The Commissioner requires the council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. As regards parts a) and c) of the request, to respond to the complainant confirming or denying whether the requested information is held. In relation to any information that is held, this must either be disclosed, or the complainant given a valid reason as to why it will not be disclosed.
FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 31(3): Complaint upheld
Citations:
[2022] UKICO ic-110761
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.674850