Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued annually as a result of a specified speed camera on the M11. The public authority refused to disclose this information on the basis of the enforcement pattern of this camera that it believed would be revealed through this information and cited the exemptions provided by sections 31(1)(a) (prejudice to the prevention or detection of crime) and 38(1) (endangerment to health and safety). As the request was for annual totals rather than a more detailed breakdown, the Commissioner finds that the prejudice and endangerment predicted by the public authority would not be likely to occur as a result of disclosure and concludes that these exemptions are not engaged. The Commissioner also finds that the public authority has stated accurately and in compliance with section 1(1)(a) that information relating to the earliest period of the operation of this camera is no longer held and that the public authority failed to comply with the procedural requirements of sections 17(1)(b) and (c) through its handling of the request. The public authority is required to disclose the information requested.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 31 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 38 - Complaint Upheld