Information Commissioner's Office

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council

9 June 2015, Local government (Borough council)

The complainant made a request to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (“the Council”) to ask for information about whether it had diverted or screened emails sent to Councillors. The Council failed to respond to the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has breached section 10(1) of FOIA by failing to respond to the request. The Commissioner requires the public authority inform the complainant whether the requested information is held. If the information is held it should provide it to the complainant or else issue a refusal notice in accordance with section 17 of FOIA. 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 (or the Court of Session in Scotland) pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

FOI 10: Upheld