The complainant requested Babergh District Council’s (the council’s) letter of instruction to a firm of solicitors sent in 2002 together with a copy of their response some months later. The council said that it could not find the letter of instruction and withheld the response from the solicitors on the grounds that it was legally privileged. Initially it cited section 42 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 but subsequently sought to rely on Regulation 12(5)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (the EIR) to withhold the requested information. The Commissioner finds that the requested information is environmental within the meaning of the EIR and engages Regulation 12(5)(b) with the public interest balanced against disclosure. The Commissioner therefore does not require the council to take any further action. However, he does find that the council breached Regulation 14(2) of the EIR by taking more than 20 working days to issue a refusal notice.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: EIR 12.5.b – Complaint Not upheld, EIR 14 – Complaint Uphel
Citations:
[2011] UKICO FS50298268
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.530271
