Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant wrote to Oxfordshire County Council (the -�council-�) and requested correspondence generated since March 2011 which related to Heath Bridge, Church Road drainage and Church Road/Housing Estate drainage pipe since March 2011. The council provided some information but withheld other information because it was considered to be the personal information of third parties or subject to legal professional privilege. The council identified further relevant correspondence which it considered was not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) because it comprised information held by an elected member in their representative capacity as a local councillor. The Commissioner-�s decision is that the council should have handled the request under the EIR rather than the FOIA and that it was late in providing some of the requested information. The Commissioner has upheld the council-�s decision to withhold some of the information under the exceptions for personal data and adverse affect to the course of justice. He has also found that some of the requested correspondence is not covered by the EIR as it constitutes information held by a councillor for their own purposes. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: EIR 12.5.b - Complaint Not upheld, EIR 13 - Complaint Not upheld