Information Commissioner's Office

Stoke-on-Trent City Council

29 September 2014, Local government (City council)

The complainant submitted a request to Stoke-on-Trent City Council (the Council) for addresses and rateable values of empty commercial properties and the names and addresses of the owners of those properties. The Council initially withheld all of the requested information. During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation the Council provided part of the requested information but sought to withhold the remainder relying on the exemptions contained in sections 31, 38 and 40 of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the addresses of the empty properties are exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 31(1)(a) and that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest favours maintaining the exemption. The names and addresses of individuals responsible for empty properties are exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 40(2). The Council did not breach section 16(1) in dealing with this request. The Council did however breach section 10(1) by failing to provide the information that it ultimately decided was not exempt from disclosure within 20 working days of the request.

FOI 31: Not upheld FOI 41: Not upheld