Information Commissioner's Office

Cheshire West and Chester Council

20 June 2016, Local government (County council)

The complainant has requested information relating to highway safety inspections from the council. The council confirmed that it holds details of safety inspections on the roads requested by the complainant, together with a policy document regarding highway safety inspections. However, noting that the complainant has made an insurance claim for damage to her vehicle from a pot hole, it applied Regulation 12(5)(b) to the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the council was correct to apply Regulation 12(5)(b) to the information on the specific road requested, however it was not correct to apply the exception to its policy document; ‘Code of Practice for Safety Inspections on Borough Roads’. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose the document ‘Code of Practice for Safety Inspections on Borough Roads’ to the complainant.

EIR 12(5)(b): Not upheld