ICO The complainant requested information relating to the absence of a senior member of the council’s staff. The council said that some information was already publicly available and that it wished to rely on section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the exemption relating to third party personal data. During the Commissioner’s investigation, the council said that it had incorrectly relied on the exemption because all the information held was in fact already publicly available. It confirmed this to the complainant and said that it did not hold any further information. The Commissioner’s decision is that the council breached section 1(1)(a), 1(1)(b) and 10(1) of the FOIA for failing to respond properly to the request. These provisions relate to the duty to confirm or deny whether recorded information is held, provide information that is held and respond to requests within 20 working days.
Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 1 – Complaint Upheld, FOI 10 – Complaint Upheld
[2013] UKICO FS50468400
Bailii
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 11 December 2021; Ref: scu.528230