Information Commissioner's Office

Norfolk County Council

26 September 2017, Local government (County council)

The complainant has requested information with regards to a review carried out in relation to a concern about Children Services in general, including the issue of the relationship between foster carers and Norfolk County Council (the council).The council provided some information but refused the remaining under section 40(2) of the FOIA – third party personal data, section 42 of the FOIA – legal professional privilege and section 43(2) of the FOIA – commercial interests. During the Commissioner’s investigations, the council located and provided further information and maintained the exemptions already applied. It did however release some information previously withheld under section 40(2) of the FOIA. The council also applied section 21 of the FOIA to some of this further information located – information accessible by other means. The council also advised the Commissioner of information falling within the scope of the request that it considered was not held by it for the purposes of the FOIA. Following the council’s further response, the complainant no longer disputed the application of sections 40(2), 43 or 21 of the FOIA. These were therefore withdrawn from the Commissioner’s investigations in this case. The complainant still disputed section 42 of the FOIA and questioned whether further information was held by the council. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 42 of the FOIA is engaged to some information, some information is not held by the council for the purposes of the FOIA and no further information is held by the council falling within the scope of the request. The Commissioner does not require the council to take any steps.

FOI 42: Not upheld FOI 1: Not upheld FOI 3: Not upheld