Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant made a number of requests for information about how the public authority had adapted in consequence to a specific set of Competition Appeal Tribunal hearings concerning a competition inquiry about common carriage and bulk supply charges for water. The public authority confirmed that it held some relevant information within the scope of the request, but that it believed it could withhold the information by virtue of section 42(1) [legal professional privilege]. It upheld its position in its internal review. The Commissioner has considered this case in detail. He has decided that the information was not environmental information and was therefore subject to the Act. He has considered each of the items that were withheld by the public authority and has decided that section 42(1) was engaged and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs that in its disclosure. He has also found a procedural breach of section 10(1) and section 17(1) as the public authority failed to respond to one of the requests within twenty working days but requires no remedial steps to be taken.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 42 - Complaint Not upheld