Complaint against Test Valley Borough Council

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Posted by ChrisCorbin on 25 Aug 2010

Legal basis

UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Section 50)

UK Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Key dates of the case

5 February 2010 The Complainant made a request to the Council to access free of charge information required to complete a compliant CON29 form.

12 March 2010 The Council wrote to the Complainant and stated that a charge would be levied.

15 March 2010 The Complainant wrote to the Council requesting an internal review on the Council decision.

23 April 2010 The Council wrote to the Complainant and stated that the internal review request was not part of the complaints procedure.

20 May 2010 The Complainant submitted a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office.

10 June 2010 The Information Commissioners Office wrote to the Council and asked that it reconsider its response to the complainant’s request under the Environmental Information Regulations.

12 July 2010 The Council provided the Complainant and the Information Commissioners Office with a copy of its internal review.

19 August 2010 The Information Commissioner issues the Decision notice.

26 August 2010 The Information Commissioners Office publishes the Decision notice.

Elapsed time = 195 days

Outline of Case

Summary (Copied from the Decision Notice Reference: FER0314877. Date: 19 August 2010)

The complainant submitted a request to Test Valley Borough Council (‘the Council’) for information from environmental records held on a property in Andover. The complainant specified that he wished to view the records in person. The Council initially stated that the information would only be provided if the complainant paid a fee. However, during the course of the investigation, the Council decided to allow the complainant to inspect the requested information free of charge. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council failed to comply with regulation 5(2) as it failed to make the requested information available within 20 working days. In addition, the Council breached regulation 11(4) by failing to conduct an internal review within 40 working days. The Commissioner notes that the Council has now decided to comply with the complainant’s request and so he requires no steps to be taken.

Case Notes

Test Valley Borough Council

Information Commissioners Office

Reference:

Complaint against Castle Point District Council

Complaint against Cheshire West and Chester Council

Complaint against Chichester District Council

Complaint against City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

Complaint against East Riding of Yorkshire Council

Complaint against Flintshire County Council

Complaint against Kirklees Council

Complaint against Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council