Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant asked the Tower Hamlets Homes (the -�public authority-�) to provide information relating to its technical services. The public authority provided some information but maintained that further information was exempt by virtue of section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the -�Act-�), being already available to the complainant. It also advised that some information was not held. During the investigation the public authority sought to aggregate this request with two other requests made by the complainant thereby exempting all three by virtue of section 12 (cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit). It also sought to introduce section 44 (prohibitions on disclosure). The Commissioner-�s decision is that the information was not exempt by virtue of section 21 and that the public authority was incorrect to claim some information was not held. He further finds that the public authority was not able to aggregate the requests, it could not apply section 12 and, also, that it could not rely on section 44. The public authority-�s handling of the request also resulted in breaches of certain procedural requirements of the Act as identified in this Notice.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: - Complaint Upheld, FOI 12 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 16 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 21 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 44 - Complaint Upheld