Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant has requested information concerning his complaint about an architect to the Architect-�s Registration Board (-�ARB-�). ARB-�s Investigations Committee (the -�IC-�) had initially taken the view that the case should proceed to a hearing but, following legal advice, the decision was reviewed and the IC decided there was no case to answer. The request was submitted before this review took place. The complainant asked for information concerning the review process, his case file, specific pieces of correspondence (including legal advice received) and data concerning the decisions of the IC and Third Party Reviews over the previous five years. ARB provided some information and applied section 42(1) to the information it considers to be legally privileged. It also explained which information is not held. The Commissioner-�s decision is that ARB is correct to apply section 42(1) to the legal advice it received. He is satisfied that ARB does not hold the further information outlined by the complainant and that it correctly handled the request in accordance with the FOIA. He does not require any further steps to be taken.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 42 - Complaint Not upheld