The complainant requested the names and addresses of Islington Council’s (the council’s) pre-paid waste sack clients under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). The council responded by withholding the information under Regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR on the grounds that it was commercially sensitive due to its very nature and the way the council’s commercial waste was managed by a private third party. Subsequently the council suggested that it did not hold the information. However, following the intervention of the Commissioner, the council agreed that the requested information was held but maintained its original position that it was entitled to withhold it under Regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR. The Commissioner concludes that the 12(5)(e) exception is engaged apart from the first part of the clients’ postcodes. For the remaining information the public interest test favours the requested information being withheld. The Commissioner requires the council to disclose the first part of the clients’ postcodes. The Commissioner also finds that the council breached Regulation 5(2) of the EIR by failing to respond to the complainant’s request within twenty working days.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: EIR 5 – Complaint Upheld, EIR 12.5.e – Complaint Partly Upheld
Citations:
[2010] UKICO FER0255082
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 17 May 2022; Ref: scu.531782
