EA_2007_0084
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Information Tribunal Appeal
Number: EA/2007/0084 Information Commissioner’s Ref: FS50132169 |
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Heard at Procession House, London, EC4
Decision
Promulgated
On 29th January 2008
5th March
2007
BEFORE
CHAIRMAN
ANNABEL
PILLING
and
LAY MEMBERS
JACQUELINE BLAKE DAVE SIVERS |
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Between
ANDREW DUNDAS
Appellant
and
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
Respondent
and
CITY OF BRADFORD METROPOLITAN
DISTRICT COUNCIL
Additional Party
Representation:
For the Appellant:
Andrew Dundas
For the Respondent: Anya
Proops
For the Additional Party: Dyfrig
Lewis-Smith |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084 |
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The Tribunal upholds the decision notice dated 26th
July 2007 and dismisses the appeal. |
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Appeal Number:
EA/2007/0084
Reasons for
Decision
Introduction
1. This is an appeal by Mr.
Andrew Dundas against a Decision Notice issued by the
Information Commissioner dated 26th July 2007. The Decision Notice relates to a request for information made by Mr. Dundas to City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (the ‘Council’) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘FOIA’). Background
2. Mr. Dundas requested
information from the Council relating to a consultation
exercise it had carried out when reviewing the boundaries and structure of Parish councils. 3. As part of the
consultation process, a leaflet was sent out containing a “tear
off”
reply slip, giving the respondent an opportunity to tick a box to indicate whether or not they supported the proposal made and providing space for any comments. There was also the option for the respondent to provide their postcode, although this was marked “optional.” There was no request for name or address details to be provided. 4. The Appellant believes
that the scope and process of the consultation exercise
were unlawful or flawed. He has been provided with much of the information he sought from the Council, either following his initial request or following his complaint to the Information Commissioner. The information still withheld represents the names and addresses (including last two letters of the postcode) of respondents. This information is withheld on the ground that the information is exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the FOIA, as it is “personal data” and to release it would contravene the first Data Protection Principle of the Data Protection Act 1988 (‘DPA’). The request for information
5. By letter dated
13th April 2006, Mr. Dundas made a request for information to
the
Council concerning the consultation exercise it had undertaken when reviewing the boundaries of Ilkley Parish Council. He stated that he was: 3 |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084 |
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“…interested in the process and
results of the consultation within the now
reduced Ilkley Parish, that includes most addresses in the LS29 8, 9 sectors and parts of the LS29 0 sector.” 6. He requested a copy of the following:
I)
Advertisements in newspapers, and their position and dates in
those
named newspapers, that gave notice of those consultations. II) Lists of leaflets distributed
to households and others in the area.
III)
Lists of streets in the areas described, where leaflets were
distributed
and confirmation (or otherwise) that the procedure was closely similar to the consultations about Parishes for the Burley and Menston areas. IV) Names and
addresses of others that have received consultation leaflets
other than by the ‘letterbox’ delivery. V)
Certificate/confirmation from distributors that leaflets were
delivered as
contracted. VI) Each
response to those consultations from within the reduced Parish
area, including name and address where given. VII)
Correspondence/emails with the Electoral Commission about
the
consultation and Bradford Council’s recommendation for the new Parish. 7. The Council responded on
15th May 2006. It provided the information it held
in
response to all but two of the requests, namely requests IV and VI. 8. In relation to request
IV, the Council stated that the information was exempt from
disclosure under section 40 of the FOIA, as to release it would “breach the principles of the Data Protection Act”. 9. In relation to request
VI, the Council provided copies of the consultation responses. However, it redacted the names, addresses and last two letters of the postcodes, where given. It withheld the name and address information in full on the grounds |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
that it was exempt from
disclosure under section 40 of the FOIA, as in relation to
request IV. 10. Mr. Dundas requested an
internal review on 26th June 2006. The internal
review
upheld the original decision to withhold the information on the grounds that it was exempt from disclosure under section 40 of the FOIA. The outcome of the internal review was communicated to Mr. Dundas on 17th August 2006. The complaint to the Information
Commissioner
11. Mr. Dundas contacted the
Information Commissioner on 17th August 2006 to
complain about the way his request had been handled. He asked the Information Commissioner to consider whether the Council had correctly applied section 40 of the FOIA. In his complaint, Mr. Dundas indicated that he believed that the consultations were seriously flawed “and that the responses may have been made predominantly by Parish Councillors and their political allies in receipt of consultation notices not provided to other electors.” 12. The Information
Commissioner conducted an investigation into the complaint. As a
result of that investigation, the Council provided the following additional information to Mr. Dundas: a) anonymised information
falling within the ambit of request IV, consisting of a
list of addresses to which the consultation leaflets were sent (with the house numbers and last two letters of the postcodes redacted); b) copies of responses
received where the address of the respondent was not
provided; and c) information relating to
organisations which had been the recipients of and
respondents to the consultation, on the basis that information relating to organisations could not amount to “personal data”. 13. In the Decision Notice
dated 26th July 2007, the Information
Commissioner
concluded: 5 |
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1) that the Council had
failed to comply with section 1 of the FOIA (the general
right to information) in that in relation to requests IV and VI it had incorrectly applied the exemption in section 40 of the FOIA to the consultation responses and the names and addresses submitted by organisations. This information had since been disclosed and no further steps were required; and 2) that the Council had
complied with section 1 of the FOIA in relation to
requests IV and VI by correctly withholding the names and addresses of (a) those persons who were sent consultation leaflets other than by letterbox delivery and (b) those persons who had provided their details when responding to the consultation. This information was “personal data” for the purposes of section 1 of the DPA and disclosure of that information would have breached the Data Protection Principles, particularly the first Data Protection Principle as it would have resulted in an unwarranted invasion of privacy of individual respondents and accordingly would have amounted to unfair and unlawful processing. 14. The Information
Commissioner also highlighted as matter of concern the failure of
the Council to provide Mr. Dundas with the opportunity to indicate whether he wished to receive information that could not positively be identified as falling within the postcode boundaries specified in his original request. The appeal to the
Tribunal
15. Mr. Dundas appealed to
the Tribunal on 15th August 2007.
16. The grounds of appeal
can be summarised as follows:
1) the withheld information
did not amount to “personal data” and did not,
therefore, fall within the scope of the exemption set out in section 40 of the FOIA; 2) even if that information
did amount to “personal data”, it would not have been
a breach of the Data Protection Principles to disclose it. 17. The Tribunal joined the Council as an additional
party.
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
18. The appeal has been
determined without a hearing on the basis of written
submissions and an agreed bundle of documents. 19. Mr. Dundas submitted
“Confidential Submissions” a day or so before the appeal
was determined. No Direction had been made or sought for the provision of submissions to be made without being disclosed to the other parties. These were not considered as part of the appeal hearing, although on a brief perusal they appear to amount to background and allegations of errors in the consultation process which would not be relevant to the appeal in any event. 20. In addition, the
Tribunal was provided with a copy of the withheld information. This
was not made available to Mr. Dundas, as to disclose it to him would defeat the purpose of this appeal. 21. Although the Tribunal
may not refer to every document in this Decision, we have
considered all the material placed before us. The Powers of the Tribunal
22. The Tribunal’s powers in
relation to appeals under section 57 of the FOIA are set
out in section 58 of the FOIA, as follows: (1) If on an appeal under
section 57 the Tribunal considers-
(a) that the notice against which the appeal is brought is not in accordance with the law, or (b) to the extent that the
notice involved an exercise of discretion by
the Commissioner, that he ought to have exercised his discretion differently, the Tribunal shall allow the
appeal or substitute such other notice as could have been served by the Commissioner; and in any other case the Tribunal shall dismiss the appeal. |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
(2) On such an appeal, the
Tribunal may review any finding of fact on which
the notice in question was based. 23. The starting point for
the Tribunal is the Decision Notice of the Commissioner but
the Tribunal also receives and hears evidence, which is not limited to the material that was before the Commissioner. The Tribunal, having considered the evidence (and it is not bound by strict rules of evidence), may make different findings of fact from the Commissioner and consider the Decision Notice is not in accordance with the law because of those different facts. Nevertheless, if the facts are not in dispute, the Tribunal must consider whether the FOIA has been applied correctly. If the facts are decided differently by the Tribunal, or the Tribunal comes to a different conclusion based on the same facts, that will involve a finding that the Decision Notice was not in accordance with the law. 24. The question of whether
the information amounts to “personal data” and whether
the exemption in section 40 of the FOIA is engaged and whether disclosure would breach a Data Protection Principle are all questions of law based upon the analysis of the facts. This is not a case where the Commissioner was required to exercise his discretion. The questions for the
Tribunal
25. The Tribunal has
concluded that the relevant issues in this appeal are as
follows:
1) What information is
still being sought/withheld?
2) Is that information
“personal data”?
3) If that information is
“personal data”, would disclosure breach any of the Data
Protection Principles? 26. As a preliminary issue,
it was necessary to clarify exactly what information was still being sought/withheld as a question had arisen as to whether the request to be provided with the last two letters of the postcode amounted to a further request for information not covered by the original request. We were satisfied that the disputed |
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information is that identified by
Mr. Dundas at paragraph 15 of his Grounds of
Appeal document: i) the names and addresses of
those individuals who were sent
consultation leaflets other than by letterbox
delivery;
ii) the names and addresses of
those individuals who responded to the
consultation; and iii) the full postcodes, where
given, of those who responded to the
consultation where they did not give their names and addresses. 27. We consider that the
original request for names and addresses included within its
ambit the full postcodes, including the last two letters. 28. The Council had provided
Mr. Dundas with a redacted copy of a delivery “back-
check” that the distribution company had completed. The redacted parts were the names or signatures of the householders. It appeared from his written submissions that Mr. Dundas is also appealing against the withholding of that redacted information. Legal submissions and analysis
29. A public authority need
not comply with the duty to disclose under section 1 of the
FOIA where any of the absolute exemptions provided for by FOIA apply. Section 40 of the FOIA is an absolute exemption. 30. Section 40 of the FOIA provides as
follows:
(1) Any
information to which a request for information relates is
exempt
information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject. (2) Any information to
which a request for information relates is also exempt information if- (a) it constitutes personal data which do not fall within subsection (1), and |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
(b) either the first or second
condition below is satisfied.
(3)The first condition is- (a) in a case where the information falls within any of the paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of “data” in section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, that the disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene- (i) any of the data protection principles, or (ii) section 10 of that Act
(right to prevent processing likely to
cause damage or distress), and (b) in any other case, that
the disclosure of the information to a member
of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene any of the date protection principles if the exemptions in section 33(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (which relate to manual data held by public authorities) were disregarded. (4) The second condition is
that by virtue of any provision of Part IV of the Data
Protection Act 1998 the information is exempt from section 7(1)(c) of that Act (data subject’s right of access to personal data). Definition of “personal data”
31. The FOIA incorporates the
definition of “personal data” found in section 1(1) of
the
DPA: “personal data” means data
which relate to a living individual who can be
identified- (a) from those data, or (b) from those data and other
information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller, |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
and includes any expression of
opinion about the individual and any indication
of the intentions of the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual. 32. The DPA gives effect to
Directive 95/46/EC of October 1995 on The Protection of
Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the Free Movement of Such Data (the ‘1995 Directive’) and this has a bearing on how the DPA should be interpreted. 33. Article 2(a) of the 1995 Directive defines “personal
data” as
“…any information relating to
an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data
subject’); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number or to one or more factors specific to his physical, physiological, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.” 34. It is not necessary or
helpful to repeat in detail the lengthy submissions of the
parties in relation to how the definition of “personal data” should be interpreted. 35. The Appellant submits
that this definition requires three elements to be combined
before data can amount to “personal data”: identification, third party opinion and the intentions about a living individual. In essence, he argues that the definition should be read conjunctively and unless each of the elements outlined were present, information could not amount to “personal data” for the purposes of the FOIA or the DPA. He submits that the Guidance provided by the Office of the Information Commissioner is a “wholly inaccurate and misleading guide to the law”. 36. The Information
Commissioner and the Council both submit that Mr. Dundas
has
misinterpreted the structure and requirements of section 1 of the DPA. They submit that the use of the term “includes” is intended to be permissive, to allow for a broad definition of personal data. 37. The Information
Commissioner also submits that to interpret the definition in
section
1 of the DPA as broadly as
Mr. Dundas suggests would be inconsistent with Article
2 of the 1995 Directive
(supra). |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
38. It appears to the
Tribunal that Mr. Dundas misunderstood the law and should,
perhaps, have been given additional guidance on this point at an earlier stage. 39. We are satisfied that
the definition of “personal data” has been drafted, and should
be interpreted, broadly. The words “and includes” is inclusive rather than conditional. The purpose of that definition is to make it clear that both opinion and statement of intent (as well as details such as names, addresses etc) can be considered “personal data” but are not required elements that must always be present for information to be considered to fall into this category. 40. With this broad
definition in mind, we turn to consider whether the
disputed
information is “personal data”. Is the disputed information “personal
data”?
41. What makes data
“personal” is whether living individuals can be identified from it.
In some instances this is a straightforward question (for example, a name) but in other instances this can be more complex. 42. Our attention was drawn
to a number of authorities, although these were not
actually provided to us. In particular we were asked to consider the comments made by Auld LJ in the Court of Appeal in the leading case of Durant v FSA [2003] EWCA Civ.1746 “…there are two notions that may be of assistance. The first is whether the information is biographical in a significant sense, that is, going beyond the recording of the putative data subject’s involvement in a matter or an event that has no personal connotations, a life event in respect of which his privacy could not be said to be compromised. The second is one of focus. The information should have the putative data subject as its focus rather than some other person with whom he may have been involved or some transaction or event in which he may have figured or have had an interest, for example, as in this case, an investigation into some other person’s or body’s conduct that he may have instigated. In short, it is information that affects his privacy, whether in his personal or family life, business or professional capacity…” ( at para 28) 43. The consultation
leaflets were clearly intended to be anonymous, as names and
addresses were not required from respondents; there was simply the option of 12 |
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providing the postcode if the
respondent wished. We note that there was no data
protection information given on the leaflet and, in particular, no warning that the information provided might be disclosed in the future. The respondents may well have assumed, therefore, that the information provided would be used for the purposes of the consultation only. 44. We have already
identified the four categories of the disputed information and
now
consider each in turn. Names and addresses of
those individuals who were sent consultation leaflets other
than by letterbox delivery 45. Mr. Dundas has now been
provided with, in each case, the address, less the house
number and last two letters of the postcode. There can be no dispute that a name amounts to “personal data”. The question of whether an address alone can amount to “personal data” would depend on the circumstances. 46. Although Mr. Dundas
submits that more than just identifying information is needed
for information to be regarded as “personal data”, we have rejected that submission. 47. Data is “personal” if a
living individual can be identified from it, and he can be
identified even if his name is not known. In this instance, the full address information would disclose that individuals residing at a particular address had been sent the consultation leaflet other than by letterbox delivery, that is, by request or some other means. We note that in his own written submissions Mr. Dundas concedes that “postcodes are a normal part of address information that identifies individuals.” 48. We therefore conclude
that this category of disputed information amounts to
“personal data”. The names and addresses of those individuals who
responded to the consultation
49. Although Mr.Dundas has
been provided with the actual responses to the consultation, he has confirmed that he requests the names and addresses of those who responded. There can be no dispute that the name of a respondent amounts to personal data. An address alone would, in this instance, amount to “personal |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
data” as it would reveal that a
person residing at that address had responded to the
consultation exercise. 50. We therefore conclude
that this category of disputed information amounts to
“personal data”. The full postcodes, where
given, of those who responded to the consultation where
they did not give their names and addresses. 51. We consider the postcode
to be part of the address and therefore part of the
information that fell within the original request VI. We do not accept the Council’s submission that Mr. Dundas’ request to be provided with this information as a further or new request. But rather it has been raised as an “alternative” request as some redacted address information has been withheld. 52. In relation to
postcodes, the parties accept that these are “Royal Mail’s
inventions
that identify groups and tiers of addresses.” The postcode is comprised of two halves. The first half is the out bound postcode and identifies the post town. The second half is the inbound postcode and will identify an actual address or addresses. 53. In built up areas, one
postcode may identify a number of separate residences. We
note that, in rural areas, one postcode may relate to a large geographical area, but only a few residences and may even, in some instances, identify only one property or residence. There may be cases, therefore, where the full postcode identifies one address and one individual. While in many cases the full postcode would identify a relatively small number of addresses, but not just one individual, a small inclusive group of individuals would be identified. We have already noted (supra) that in his own written submissions Mr. Dundas concedes that “postcodes are a normal part of address information that identifies individuals.” 54. Without further
investigation and detailed evidence, it is not possible to know whether the last two letters of the postcodes that have been withheld from Mr. Dundas identify more than one address. Although the Council have a duty to assist Mr. Dundas under the FOIA, this duty does not, in our opinion, extend to this onerous task. |
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55. It is clear from the
material we have seen that Mr. Dundas is seeking this
information to identify individuals who responded to the consultation process. While the FOIA is “motive blind”, the Council submits that we should consider the wider implications in relation to the issue of disclosing the full postcode. The Council submits that the postcodes fall within part (b) of the definition of “personal data”: that is, it relates to a living individual who can be identified from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller. 56. We consider that the
full postcode, that is the last two letters, would be sufficient for
a living individual to be identified and we consider that the postcodes, in this instance, fall within part (a) of the definition of “personal data”. 57. We therefore conclude
that this category of disputed information amounts to
“personal data”. The unredacted copy of the delivery
“back-check”
58. The information redacted
is the name or signature of the relevant householder. We
consider that there can be no dispute that this information amounts to “personal data”. Would disclosure contravene any of the Data Protection
Principles?
59. The Data Protection
Principles are contained in Part I of Schedule 1 of the DPA.
The relevant part of first Data Protection Principle states that: Personal data shall be
processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not
be processed unless- (a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met; 60. “Processing” is defined
in section 1 of the DPA and includes “disclosure of the
information or data by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available.” 61. Mr. Dundas submits that
“at least” one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met and has identified four conditions that he submits would mean that the disclosure of the information amounted to fair and lawful processing, that the Data Protection |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
Principles would not be
contravened and that, therefore, the exemption under
section 40 of the FOIA was not engaged. 62. Again, we received
lengthy submissions on these issues and we do not consider it
necessary to rehearse them in any detail in our Decision. Sch.2, para.5(a) Processing is necessary for the
administration of justice
63. Mr. Dundas submits that
the information is “required for the administration of justice
by establishing whether misrepresentations have been made.” He argues that reasonable grounds exist for suspecting that the consultation process was not properly conducted. In particular, he challenges whether the large number of leaflets that should have been distributed were in fact delivered. He also “hypothesises” that a large number of the claimed responses were from insiders of the Councils to whom the consultation leaflets were provided by means other than the letterbox delivery. 64. We are not satisfied
that Mr. Dundas is carrying out any function that could properly
be regarded as administering justice. He is not a court or tribunal or an investigative authority. He is a private individual, a member of the public, who seeks the disclosure of information that he believes may assist him in challenging what he perceives as the unlawful changes to Parish boundaries. 65. We do not consider that this condition is
met.
Sch.2, para.5(c) Processing
is necessary for the exercise of any functions of the
Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department 66. Mr. Dundas submits that
the Electoral Commission (‘EC’) and the Office of the
Deputy Prime Minister (‘ODPM’) may have been misled in their functions of approving the proposals for Parish electoral arrangements. He submits that information about the identities of respondents to the consultation process to “support a demonstration to the EC and ODPM that their functions of approving the electoral arrangements and new parishes were subverted.” 67. We do not consider that
Mr. Dundas is carrying out any function of the Crown, a
Minister of the Crown or a government department. As mentioned above, we note 16 |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
that Mr. Dundas is a private
individual, a member of the public, who seeks the
disclosure of information that he believes may assist him in challenging what he perceives as the unlawful changes to Parish boundaries. 68. We do not consider that this condition is
met.
Sch.2, para.5(d) Processing
is necessary for the exercise of any other functions of a
public nature exercised in the public interest by any person 69. Mr. Dundas submits that
he is “any person” and that the “function of a public nature
exercised in the public interest” is securing consultation about lawful electoral arrangements in his Parish. 70. The Council concedes
that it is unarguable that electoral equality is a matter of
public interest and that Mr. Dundas might be “championing” a genuinely-held grievance amongst members of the public. 71. We do not consider that
Mr. Dundas is exercising a public function. As mentioned
above, we note that Mr. Dundas is a private individual, a member of the public, who seeks the disclosure of information that he believes may assist him in challenging what he perceives as the unlawful changes to Parish boundaries. 72. We do not consider that this condition is
met.
Sch.2, para.6(1) Processing
is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests
pursued by the data controller or by the third party of parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject 73. This condition was
considered in some detail by a differently constituted panel of this Tribunal in The Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v The Information Commissioner (EA/2006/0015 and 0016) and, although we are not bound by that decision, we accept the key principles as identified by the Information Commissioner in the written submissions before us: |
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i) as a general rule, the
interests of the data subject must be judged to be
paramount under the DPA, although
that general rule may be disapplied
in respect of data subjects who are public officials particularly where the disputed information relates to the performance of their public duties; ii) the exercise of balancing the
interests of the proposed third party
recipient as against those of the data subject is comparable to the balancing exercise required under the public interest test provided for in section 2 of the FOIA; and iii) disclosure will only be
“necessary” for the purposes of paragraph 6
where the third party’s legitimate interests in disclosure outweighs, or is greater than, the prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate expectations of the data subject. 74. Mr. Dundas has raised a
number of matters that he submits amount to “reasonable
grounds” to conclude that the scope and process of the consultation exercise were unlawful or flawed. The only “legitimate interest” he could be regarded as having amounts merely to speculation as to the propriety of the consultation. 75. Without making a finding
as to whether that does amount to a “legitimate interest”
for these purposes, in any event we are not satisfied that disclosure of the disputed information would be “necessary” for the purposes of that interest. We agree with the submissions of the Information Commissioner and the Council that other complaint procedures could be utilised by Mr. Dundas without the need for the disclosure of “personal data”. 76. We also consider that
those who responded to the consultation would reasonably expect their responses to remain confidential (and we note again that there was the option to provide simply their postcode and the absence of any data protection warning). Respondents voluntarily provided information and it is not helpful to regard the information as being akin to the electoral roll. The Disclosure of the information might lead to the individuals being contacted which may be regarded as an unwarranted intrusion into their private lives. |
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Appeal Number: EA/2007/0084
77. We are not satisfied
that Mr. Dundas’ interests in seeking the information outweigh
the legitimate interests of the data subjects, that is, the respondents to the consultation leaflet. 78. We do not consider that this condition is
met.
79. We therefore do not
consider that any of the conditions in Schedule 2 are met.
Disclosure of the information would not be fair and lawful and would contravene the first Data Protection Principle. Conclusion and remedy
80. A number of points have
been raised by Mr. Dundas that have had no direct
bearing on this appeal and are not within the jurisdiction of this Tribunal. In particular, we cannot comment on any of his substantive complaints about the quality of the consultation process. 81. For the reasons set out
above, we have concluded that all the disputed information
is “personal data” and that to disclose it would contravene the first Data Protection Principle. The exemption in section 40(2) of the FOIA is therefore engaged and this is an absolute exemption from disclosure. The Tribunal dismisses the appeal. 82. Our decision is unanimous.
Signed
Annabel Pilling
Deputy Chairman Date 8th February
2008 |
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