Information Commissioner's Office

Vale of Glamorgan Council

12 February 2007, Local government (District council)

The complainant requested a copy of a counsel’s opinion that the public authority had obtained in relation to the enforcement of restrictive covenants. The public authority refused the request, citing the exemption at section 42 of the Act. This section allows public authorities to withhold information to which a claim of legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings, subject to a public interest test. The Commissioner finds that the information in question does attract legal professional privilege. Furthermore, the Commissioner believes that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Accordingly, the Commissioner has decided that the public authority applied the Act correctly in citing the section 42 exemption. However, the Commissioner has decided that the public authority initially breached the requirements of section 17 of the Act by issuing an inadequate refusal notice.

FOI 17: Upheld