Information Commissioner's Office

West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive

30 January 2007, Local government (District council)

The complainant submitted a number of requests to the public authority during the period January 2005 to November 2005 about the public authority’s financial relationship with four local bus companies. In November 2005 the public authority refused to answer any further requests on this issue from the complainant. The Commissioner has decided that the public authority were correct to refuse to answer the complainant’s latest request on the basis that it was vexatious, although the public authority failed to provide a proper refusal notice citing section 14. The Commissioner has also decided that in responding to the complainant’s earlier requests the public authority breached section 10 several times by failing to respond to a number of requests within 20 working days. The Commissioner is satisfied that in responding to the requests the public authority provided all of the information covered by the requests, with the exception of one request.However, the Commissioner considers that the public authority could have also refused to answer this request on the basis that it was vexatious and therefore has not ordered the public authority to fulfil the outstanding parts of this request.

FOI 1: Not upheld