Information Commissioner's Office

Staffordshire Police

18 February 2016, Police and criminal justice

The complainant requested information from Staffordshire Police relating to its pensions provision having been outsourced to a contractor. Staffordshire Police disclosed some information, but withheld the remainder under the following sections of the FOIA: 14(1) (vexatious requests), 40(2) (personal information), 42(1) (legal professional privilege) and 43(2) (prejudice to commercial interests). The Commissioner’s decision is that sections 14(1) and 43(2) were cited correctly, so Staffordshire Police was not obliged to disclose the information withheld under those provisions. The Commissioner’s view is that the information for which section 42(1) was cited was either not within the scope of the request, or is the personal data of the complainant and so was exempt under section 40(1) of the FOIA, rather than 42(1). In relation to section 40(2), the Commissioner’s finding is that this exemption is not engaged and Staffordshire Police is now required to disclose the information withheld under that section. Staffordshire Police also breached sections 10(1) and 17(1) of the FOIA by failing to respond to the request within 20 working days of receipt.

FOI 14: Not upheld FOI 40: Upheld FOI 42: Upheld FOI 43: Not upheld