Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested a hard copy of a photograph he had inspected at Cannock Library from Staffordshire County Council (the -�Council-�) on 5 June 2007. The Council responded on 14 June 2007 stating that the photograph was exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act (the -�Act-�). The complainant was unhappy with the Council-�s response and requested an internal review on 25 June 2007. The Council replied on 23 July 2007 stating that it was not obliged to provide a copy of photograph under section 1(1)(b) of the Act as it was reasonably accessible to the complainant by inspection at Cannock Library under its publication scheme. The Commissioner has concluded that the Council correctly applied section 21 of the Act to the requested information and does not require it to take any further action. However the Commissioner has also decided that the Council breached section 17(1) as it did not state why it was relying on section 21 within the time stipulated in section 10.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 21 - Complaint Not upheld