Information Commissioner's Office

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council

28 July 2015, Local government (District council)

The complainant submitted two requests to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (the Council) seeking information about a proposed development at Moneystone Quarry. After some delay, the Council provided the complainant with information falling within the scope of his first request. With regard to the second request the Council provided some of the information but withheld other information, subsequently confirming that this was on the basis of regulation 12(5)(f) of the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that: The Council cannot rely on regulation 12(5)(f) to withhold information falling within the scope of the second request. The Council breached regulation 5(2) by failing to respond to the complainant’s first request within 20 working days and regulation 5(2) and 14(2) by failing to respond to the complainant’s second request within 20 working days. It also breached regulation 14(3) by failing to specify the exception upon which it was relying on to withhold information. The Commissioner requires the public authority to provide the complainant with the information falling within the scope of the request dated 30 October 2014 which it previously withheld on the basis of regulation 12(5)(f). The public authority must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

EIR 5(2): Upheld EIR 14(2): Upheld EIR 14(3): Upheld EIR 12(5)(f): Upheld