Information Commissioner's Office

Enfield London Borough Council

7 November 2017, Local government (Borough council)

The complainant has requested a report into an investigation carried out by the council following her complaint against a named organisation. The council provided some information from the report on the basis that it was the complainant’s own personal data which she was entitled to under the subject access provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). However it withheld the remaining information under section 40(2) – third party personal data, and section 43(2) – commercial prejudice. The Commissioner’s decision is that the majority of the withheld information constitutes the personal data of the complainant, albeit on occasions linked to the personal data of third parties. This information is exempt from disclosure under section 40(1) of the FOIA, but should have been considered for disclosure under the DPA. There is a small amount of information which is purely the personal data of third parties, some of which is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA by virtue of section 40(2), some of which is not. In addition the Commissioner finds that the council cannot rely on section 43(2) to withhold the majority of information which is not personal data. However a very limited amount of the non-personal data can be withheld under section 43(2). The Commissioner has produced two confidential annexes. One will be provided solely to the council and identifies which information she has considered under the various exemptions and which of that information the council is required to disclose under the FOIA. The second annexe will be provided to the complainant and simply illustrates the extent of the information which the Commissioner finds is her personal data and therefore should have been considered under the DP.  The Commissioner requires the council to disclose the third party personal data identified in the confidential annexe provided to it and to disclose the non-personal data which the Commissioner has found does not engage section 43(2) as identified in the same confidential annexe.

FOI 40: Partly upheld FOI 43: Partly upheld