The complainant has requested information from the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (‘the Council’) regarding investigations into school placements over two academic years. The Council refused the request, stating that it did not hold the information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has failed to demonstrate, on the balance of probabilities, that it does not hold the requested information and as such, has failed to comply with section 1 of the FOIA. In addition, the Council did not engage sufficiently with the complainant to establish whether a refined request could be submitted, and therefore the Commissioner finds that the Council breached its section 16 duty to provide advice and assistance. The Council also failed to respond to the request within 20 working days, and therefore breached section 10 of the FOIA. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Issue a fresh response to the complainant, which does not rely on the information not being held. Engage with the complainant to explain the address check procedure more fully, to establish whether a more refined request could be submitted. The Council must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.
FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 16: Complaint upheld FOI 1: Complaint upheld
Citations:
[2019] UKICO fs50832372
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 13 August 2022; Ref: scu.643440
