G v Scottish Legal Complaints Commission: SIC 14 Dec 2011

Identity and relationship of decision-makers – Mr G requested from the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (the SLCC) information as to whether a named person was personally acquainted with certain decision-makers and/or members of the SLCC board, and also the identities of those involved in making a particular decision. The SLCC did not respond and Mr G wrote to the SLCC requiring it to carry out a review. Following a review, as a result of which the SLCC responded to the effect that it did not hold any information falling within the scope of the first request and considered the second request to be vexatious, Mr G remained dissatisfied and applied to the Commissioner for a decision.
Following an investigation, the Commissioner was satisfied that the SLCC did not hold any information falling within the scope of Mr G’s first request. He also accepted that the second request was vexatious and that, by virtue of section 14(1) of FOISA, the SLCC was not obliged to comply with it.
However, the Commissioner also found that in failing to provide a response to Mr G’s request within 20 working days, the SLCC breached section 10(1) of FOISA. He did not require the SLCC to take any action in relation to this failure.

Citations:

[2011] ScotIC 246 – 2011)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 1(1) 1(4) 1(6)

Scotland, Information, Legal Professions

Updated: 05 October 2022; Ref: scu.451557