Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested information relating to Holme Valley Parish Council (-�the council-�) claiming ownership of various plots of land, the majority of which used to be stone quarries. The council said that it did not hold any relevant information. It said that all relevant records had been transferred to a land charity of which it was the sole trustee and this meant that the information was outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (-�the FOIA-�). The Commissioner-�s decision is that the request should be considered under the terms of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (-�the EIR-�) rather than the FOIA. He considered that the council incorrectly said that it did not hold any relevant information. The Commissioner found that some information was held by the authority itself. On the balance of probabilities, the Commissioner also decided that other information is likely to be held by a third party on behalf of the council. The Commissioner therefore considers that the council breached its obligations under regulation 5(1) and 5(2) of the EIR to make information available within 20 working days.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: EIR 5 - Complaint Upheld, EIR 5 - Complaint Upheld