Summary: The complainant requested information regarding a specific planning application. The public authority applied the exemption available under section 21 of the Act and stated that most of the information was available by other means. The public authority refused to disclose copies of legal advice and applied section 42 of the Act. The complainant maintained that further information was held by the public authority and this formed the basis of her complaint to the Commissioner. The Commissioner found that the EIR was the relevant legislation under which the request should have been considered but that further information was not held by the public authority. The Commissioner requires no steps to be taken by the public authority but raised concerns about its ability to identity environmental information, as defined by the EIR.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: EIR 14 - Complaint Upheld