Information Commissioner's Office

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

22 January 2007, Local government (Borough council)

The complainant requested information on the private equity investments made by the council on behalf of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF). The council refused to supply some of the information on the basis that it was subject to a confidentiality agreement between it and various investment organisations (section 41), and that a disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of some of the parties involved (section 43). The Commissioner's decision is that the information should be disclosed on the basis that the public interest in knowing that public funds are being invested wisely overrides the public interest in protecting confidentiality in this instance. The Commissioner also believes that a disclosure would not prejudice the commercial interests of any party.

FOI 41: Upheld