Information Commissioner's Office

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

27 July 2015, Local government (Borough council)

The complainant has requested information concerning allegations of the mistreatment of a child at Wood Fold School, by staff at the school. Wigan Council (‘the Council’) says it has released all the information that it holds with regard to one part of the request and does not hold relevant information with regard to another part. It is withholding some information within the scope of a third part under section 42 (legal professional privilege). During the Commissioner’s investigation, the Council disclosed other information that it had initially withheld under 43(2) (commercial interests). The Commissioner’s decision is that Wigan Council has disclosed all the relevant information that it holds with regard to part 1 of the request; does not hold other information that has been requested under part 3(b) of the request; and has correctly applied section 42 to the information it has withheld under part 2 of the request. The Commissioner also finds that the Council breached section 10 as it did not provide a response to the request or disclose information within the 20 working days that is a requirement of the Act.

FOI 10: Upheld FOI 42: Partly upheld