In a six part request, the complainant has requested information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about a specific parking company and about the Keeper of a Vehicle at the Date of an Event service. DVLA provided information relevant to one part, advised it does not hold information relevant to three parts and withheld the remaining information under section 31(1)(a) (law enforcement) and section 43(2) (commercial interests) of the FOIA, with the public interest favouring maintaining these exemptions. In the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, DVLA withdrew its reliance on section 43 and released the information it had been withholding under that exemption. The complainant disputes that DVLA does not hold information relevant to part 5 of his request, and its reliance on section 31 to withhold information he requested in part 1. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: On the balance of probabilities DVLA does not hold the information requested in part 1 of the request. DVLA’s response breached section 1(1)(a) of the FOIA as it did not advise him that it does not hold that information. On the balance of probabilities, DVLA does not hold the information requested in part 5 of the request and its response to that part complied with section 1(1)(a). DVLA breached section 10(1) of the FOIA as it did not comply with section 1(1) within 20 working days of the request. The Commissioner does not require DVLA to take any remedial steps.
FOI 10: Complaint upheld FOI 1: Complaint partly upheld
Citations:
[2020] UKICO IC-45156
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 13 August 2022; Ref: scu.657911
