Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested seven food hygiene inspection reports from Monmouthshire County Council (the -�Council-�). Four reports were disclosed but three were withheld because the information was gathered using the Council-�s powers and there was potential for an ongoing investigation to lead to a prosecution. The Council applied sections 30(1) and 30(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the -�Act-�) and said that it considered the public interest to favour maintaining the exemptions to disclosure. During the course of the Information Commissioner-�s (the -�Commissioner-�) investigation the withheld information was disclosed but the complainant asked for a formal decision on whether the exemption had been correctly applied by the Council. The Commissioner has investigated and found that the information was correctly withheld at the time of the request. He found a procedural breach of the Act but requires no steps to be taken. The Commissioner-�s decision is that: section 30(1)(a)(i) of the Act is engaged and that the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. The Council breached section 17(1)(b) of the Act by failing to specify the relevant subsections of the Act on which it was relying. The Commissioner considers this is necessary in order that the applicant for information is clear about the reason a request is refused. There are no practical steps the Commissioner can order the Council to take in relation to this complaint.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 30 - Complaint Not upheld