Information Commissioner's Office

Calderdale College

27 July 2016, Education (College)

The complainant has made a number of requests for information relating to a dispute between a training service provider and Calderdale College (the College) which culminated in legal proceedings. The College has provided some information but refused to disclose the remainder. The Commissioner has found that a considerable part of the requested information is the personal data of the complainant and should be considered under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and not FOIA. She has therefore not considered further the personal data as part of this notice. With regard to the College’s position under FOIA, the Commissioner has decided that the ‘vexatious requests’ (section 14(1)) exclusion does not apply and the ‘information contained in court records’ (section 32(1)) and ‘legal professional privilege’ (section 42(1)) exemptions to disclosure are not engaged. She has though found that the ‘third party personal data’ (section 40(2)) does apply to some elements of the withheld information. With respect to a separate procedural concern raised by the complainant, the Commissioner has determined that the College is not required to take any further action in terms of the information disclosed in relation to requests 1 – 4 under ‘the confirm or deny’ (section 1(1)(a)) mechanism in FOIA. The Commissioner requires the public authority to disclose all the information held by the College that is covered by requests 5 – 11, with the exception of the complainant’s personal data or any third party personal data that the Commissioner has decided is subject to section 40(2) of FOIA.

FOI 1: Not upheld FOI 14: Upheld FOI 32: Upheld FOI 42: Upheld