The complainant requested information from Liverpool City Council (the council) about the amount of money spent on departments relocating to other premises. The council refused to comply with the request on the basis that to do so would exceed the appropriate limit in costs set by section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA). The Commissioner’s decision is that the council correctly applied section 12(1) however it should have stated that it did not hold all of the information requested by the complainant. It therefore breached section 1(1)(a) and 10(1) of the FOIA. The Commissioner has also found that the council breached section 16(1) of the FOIA by failing to offer reasonable advice and assistance. The Commissioner requires the public authority to engage directly with the complainant in accordance with its obligations under section 16(1) and offer her the opportunity to obtain information that the council can extract from its budget by working up to the appropriate limit.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 1 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 10 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 12 – Complaint Not upheld, FOI 16 – Complaint Upheld
[2012] UKICO FS50435343
Bailii
England and Wales
Updated: 13 October 2021; Ref: scu.529640