Summary: The complainant has requested a copy of an email sent with a briefing to councillors at the council about a specific subject. The council confirmed that it held the email but withheld the information on the basis that the exemption in section 30(2)(b) applied (investigations). During the Commissioner's investigation the council also applied section 30(2)(a) (investigations) and section 36(2)(c) to the information (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs). The Commissioner-™s decision is that Oxford County Council was not correct to apply section 36(2)(c), 30(2)(a) or 30(2)(b) to the information and that the public interest rests in the information being disclosed. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. To disclose the information to the complainant.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 30 - Complaint Upheld, FOI 36 - Complaint Upheld