The complainant submitted two requests to Ofgem for emails received by the Chief Executive and the Director of Conduct and Enforcement during a specific time period in February 2019. Ofgem refused the requests citing section 14(1) of the FOIA (vexatious requests) as its basis for doing so. Ofgem claimed that section 14(1) applied because compliance with each request would constitute a grossly oppressive burden. The Commissioner’s decision is that Ofgem was not entitled to rely on section 14(1) of the FOIA to refuse the requests. The Commissioner requires Ofgem to issue fresh responses to the requests which do not rely on section 14(1) of the FOIA.
FOI 14: Complaint upheld
Citations:
[2019] UKICO fs50846693
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 24 November 2022; Ref: scu.650456