Summary: The complainant has requested from the Marine Management Organisation (-MMO-) copies of correspondence from the European Commission (-EC-) confirming it was content with delays in the reporting of fishing data and underreporting of fishing effort. The MMO provided the complainant with a copy of a letter from the EC but the complainant claimed that this did not fall with the scope of her request. The Commissioner-s decision is that the MMO has breached regulation 14(3)(a) of the EIR by not issuing a refusal notice stating that it did not hold information falling within the scope of the request at the time that it was made and citing the exception contained in regulation 12(4)(a). The Commissioner does not require the MMO to take any further steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 14 - Complaint Upheld