Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested access to files on the prosecutions brought for fare dodging on London buses. The information was withheld under the exemptions provided by section 40(2) - personal information about third parties, and section 21 - information accessible to the applicant by other means. The Commissioner found that the information constituted sensitive personal data about third parties and that to disclose the information would contravene the first data protection principle. Therefore, all the information that had been withheld was exempt information. However, in relation to the application of section 21, Transport for London initially argued that, as some of the information had been discussed in open court, it would be accessible via the relevant court record. However, the Commissioner found that the applicant would not easily be able to identify the court records that interested him and, even if he could, he would not necessarily be granted access to those records.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 40 - Complaint Not upheld, FOI 21 - Complaint Upheld