Information Commissioner's Office

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

28 January 2008, Local government (District council)

The complainant requested a number of items relating to the maintenance of a caravan site owned by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council (the “Council”). The Council refused the request in its entirety, citing the exemption under section 43 (commercial interests) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”). Following the intervention of the Commissioner, the Council disclosed the majority of the information requested to the complainant. However, the Council maintained that section 43 applied to two items of requested information and further, that the appropriate limit would be exceeded if the Council was to respond to one of these requests. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council would not exceed the appropriate limit in responding to the remaining requests and further, that the information is not exempt under section 43. The Council is therefore required to disclose the remaining information to the complainant.

FOI 43: Upheld