Information Commissioner's Office

AW Surgeries

23 March 2017, Health (Other)

The complainant has requested information about particular policies and procedures.  AW Surgeries has released some information and withheld some under section 40(2) of the FOIA because it considers it to be the personal data of third persons.  The complainant considers that AW Surgeries holds additional, relevant information that it has not disclosed and has wrongly applied section 40(2) to the information it has withheld. The Commissioner’s decision is that: On the balance of probabilities, AW Surgeries holds no further information within the scope of requests [1], [2] and [3] that it has not disclosed and it has therefore complied with its obligations under section 1(1) of the FOIA with respect to these requests. On the balance of probabilities, AW Surgeries does not hold any information falling within the scope of request [4]. AW Surgeries holds further information falling within the scope of request [5] and has breached section 1(1)(a) because it confirmed to the complainant that it did not.AW Surgeries complied with section 10(1) as it complied with section 1(1) within 20 working days. AW Surgeries correctly applied the exemption under section 40(2) to information it withheld with respect to requests [2] and [3] because it is the personal data of third persons and exempt from release under the FOIA.  The additional information the Commissioner identified during her investigation that falls within the scope of request [5] is also exempt from release under section 40(2). The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps.

FOI 1: Partly upheld FOI 10: Not upheld FOI 40: Not upheld