Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: he complainant requested, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, some of the relevant correspondence generated in consideration of complaints that she and her father had submitted to the PHSO. The PHSO replied that some of the information requested amounted to her own personal data and was exempt by virtue of section 40(1) (first party personal data). This information was then considered under the Data Protection Act 1998. It also said it would not confirm nor deny whether some recorded information was held by virtue of section 44(2). The remainder of the information was withheld under section 44(1) (statutory bar) and section 40(2) (third party personal data). The Commissioner has found that section 40(1) was applied appropriately. He has also found that section 44(2) can be applied to neither confirm nor deny whether some information was held. For all of the remaining information, he has determined that the public authority has applied section 44(1) appropriately. However, the Commissioner has found procedural breaches of sections 10(1) and 17(1), but requires no remedial steps to be taken in this case. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2011/0164 struck out.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 40 - Complaint Not upheld, FOI 44 - Complaint Partly Upheld