Summary: The complainant submitted an information request to the Council for the names of all staff empowered to issue cautions under Part G of the Council-™s scheme of delegation. The Council responded by releasing the names of Chief Officers only. It refused to disclose other staff names, as it considered this information was exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the Act. Following the Commissioner-™s intervention the remaining information was subsequently released. In terms of the handling of this request, the Commissioner found that the Council failed to comply with section 1(1)(b) of the Act, as it did not provide all the requested information within the statutory time for compliance. He also concluded that the Council breached section 10(1) of the Act in failing to comply with section 1(1) (b) within twenty working days. In addition, the Commissioner found that the Council had breached sections 17(1) and 17(7) of the Act by failing to cite and explain the exemption claimed, failing to inform the complainant of his right to request an internal review, failing to inform the complainant of his right to refer a complaint to the Commissioner under section 50 of the Act and for failing to issue its Refusal Notice within twenty working days of the receipt of the request.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld