Facts
Mr Milne wrote to Angus Council requesting all of the information that related to him, including minutes of meetings, internal memos, correspondence and e-mails. Mr Milne was informed on a number of occasions that his request constituted a request for personal information about himself and should be dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). He was asked to provide proof of identity to allow his request to be processed under the DPA. This was provided by Mr Milne, but he complained to Angus Council, stating that he wanted his request to be dealt with under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). He then requested a review in which Angus Council upheld its original decision to treat the request under the DPA. Mr Milne was provided with information by Angus Council under the DPA, but he was dissatisfied with the response he had received in relation to his request for a review under FOISA and applied to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision.
Outcome
The Commissioner found that Angus Council had complied with section 1(1) of FOISA in deciding to withhold personal information under section 38(1)(a) on the basis that Mr Milne’s request for all information relating to him constituted a request for personal information of which he was the data subject and as such should be dealt with under the terms of the DPA. The Commissioner was satisfied that information concerning Mr Milne and Trading Standards was not held by Angus Council under section 17 of FOISA, and that Angus Council had complied fully with the provisions of FOISA.
Citations:
[2005] ScotIC 075 – 2005
Links:
Scotland, Information
Updated: 08 September 2022; Ref: scu.434796
