Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The complainant requested information about the reasons for the suspensions of two senior members of staff at a particular school. The council refused to provide the information, citing section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (-�the FOIA-�), the exemption relating to third party personal data. The Commissioner-�s decision is that the council incorrectly relied on the exemption under section 40(2) in relation to the information that it withheld. The Commissioner also decided that the council held more information that fell within the scope of the request. He found breaches of section 1(1)(a), 1(1)(b) and 10(1) of the FOIA for the failure to identify and provide information within 20 working days. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the first sentence of the second paragraph from the two suspension letters and either disclose the two reports to the complainant that resulted in the suspension of the principal of the school or cite an exemption for withholding the information along with appropriate rationale in accordance with section 17 of the FOIA.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 1 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 10 - Complaint Upheld