The Complainant requested information including the specific salary and overtime pay of the executive officer and the senior finance officer of Ferryhill Town Council. The council provided some information to the complainant but refused to provide the exact details of the salaries and a breakdown of the overtime payments on an individual basis because it argued that section 40 of the Act applied (personal data). The complainant subsequently withdrew his request for information about the senior finance officer. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 40(2) of the Act applied by virtue of section 40(3)(a)(i) to the specific details of the executive officer’s salary and overtime payments. The council did not therefore breach the Act in applying the exemption to the specific details requested. However the Commissioner has also decided that the council should have provided the complainant with details of the executive officers salary band and the spine point profile for that band. He has also decided that a disclosure of aggregated overtime figures by the council to the complainant was in accordance with the requirements of the Act. The Commissioner has also decided that the council breached sections 10(1), 17(1) and 17(1)(b) of the Act in that it did not confirm that it held information relevant to the request or issue a refusal notice within 20 working days or fully cite the sub-section relied on. Information Tribunal appeal number EA/2009/0054 dismissed.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 10 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 40 – Complaint Not upheld
Citations:
[2009] UKICO FS50195769
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 05 May 2022; Ref: scu.532053
