Information Commissioner's Office

Waltham Forest Council

16 March 2016, Local government (District council)

The complainant requested a copy of a contract between Ascham Homes and contractors who carried out kitchen and bathroom programmes from 2010-2015. Ascham Homes was a company wholly owned by Waltham Council and therefore a public authority under FOI in its own right. It applied section 43(2) to the entirety of the contracts. During the course of the Commissioner's investigation all services provided by Ascham Homes were taken over by the council. The council agreed to provide further information to the complainant, retaining section 43(2) for the pricing schedules within the contracts. The complainant was happy with that level of disclosure but wished the Commissioner to recognise the delays by decision notice. The Commissioner’s decision is that the council has not complied with section 10(1) of the notice in that the complainant's request was not responded within 20 workings days. However the Commissioner notes that the council only took over responsibility for the request in November 2015 and the delays were primarily an issue with the response of Ascham Homes in withholding the information. The Commissioner does not require the council to take any steps.

FOI 10: Upheld