The complainant requested information on the council draft proposal to redevelop an area of Holly Park in Islington, London. The council provided some information but withheld other information under the exceptions in Regulations 12(4)(a), (information not held), 12(4)(e) (internal communications) and Regulation 12(4)(d) (material in the course of completion or unfinished documents). It also applied Regulation 12(4)(b) (manifestly unreasonable) to one part of the request. The complainant accepted that some information she asked for was not held, and so asked the council to consider information which it did hold. The council applied other exceptions to this information. The Commissioner’s decision is that Islington Borough Council was not correct to apply Regulation 12(4)(e) as correspondence between the council and the ALMO (Islington Homes), could not be considered internal communications for the purposes of the Regulations. It was however correct to apply Regulation 12(4)(a) as regards sections of part 3 of the request. The Commissioner therefore requires the council to disclose the information falling within the scope of part 3 of the request to the complainant which it holds. The Commissioner has also decided that the council correctly applied the exceptions in Regulations 12(4)(b) to part 4 of the request and 12(4)(d) to part 1 of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public interest in the above rests with the exceptions being maintained. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the information it holds falling within the scope of part 3 of the complainant’s request.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: EIR 12.4.a – Complaint Upheld, EIR 12.4.b – Complaint Not upheld, EIR 12.4.d – Complaint Not upheld, EIR 12.4.e – Complaint Upheld
Citations:
[2013] UKICO FER0453309
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.528107