Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested minutes of all meetings of the Corporate Management Team of the public authority for the period April 2008 to June 2009. The public authority stated that some of the information requested was not held and, in relation to the information that was held, refused the request and cited the exemptions provided by sections 36(2)(b)(i) (inhibition to the free and frank provision of advice), 36(2)(b)(ii) (inhibition to the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation) and 36(2)(c) (other prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs). The Commissioner finds that the public authority stated correctly and in accordance with section 1(1)(a) of the Act that some of the information requested was not held; but in relation to the information that was held, that none of the exemptions cited were engaged, and that the public authority breached sections 1(1)(b) and 10(1) in failing to disclose this information within 20 working days of receipt of the request, and sections 17(1)(c) and section 17(3)(b) in failing to explain its application of the exemptions and the public interest test. Although not cited by the public authority, the Commissioner has also considered the exemption provided by section 40(2) (personal information) and found that this was engaged in relation to a small part of the information requested. The public authority is required to disclose the information requested, apart from the small part of this in relation to which the Commissioner finds that the exemption provided by section 40(2) was engaged.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 36 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 40 - Complaint Partly Upheld