23 July 2015, Central government
The complainants requested information from the Department for Communities and Local Government (“DCLG”) relating to a complaint they had made about Arun District Council (“the council”). DCLG refused to respond to the requests on the basis that they were vexatious under section 14(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the FOIA”). The Commissioner considered that the requests should have been considered under the terms of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“the EIR”). The Commissioner found that a significant amount of the information was the complainants’ personal data and should have been considered under the separate subject access rights provided by the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the DPA”). The Commissioner found that the remaining information was excepted under regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR and the public interest favoured maintaining the exception. There are no steps to take.
EIR 12(4)(b): Not upheld