Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested from North East Lincolnshire Council (the council) a copy of the Settlement Agreement signed on 18 August 2004 between the council and Millennium Park (Grimsby) Limited. The council initially refused to disclose this document by citing sections 41 and 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). It said that disclosure would result in an actionable breach of confidence being made against it and would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of some of the parties to the agreement. Subsequently, following the intervention of the Commissioner, the council also cited sections 36 and 40(2) of the Act as further reasons to refuse disclosure of the requested information. It said that disclosure of the whole agreement would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs with the public interest test balanced against disclosure. Furthermore, it said that disclosure of the names of certain individuals referred to in the agreement would be unfair under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Commissioner finds that the information requested is environmental and therefore exempt under section 39 of the Act. Accordingly, the request should have been dealt with under the EIR. The Commissioner therefore requires the council to reconsider the request under the EIR and to either disclose the information to the complainant under Regulation 5 or issue a refusal notice under Regulation 14.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: EIR 5 - Complaint Upheld