Complaint against Walsall Council
- UK Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Section 50)
- UK Environmental Information Regulations 2004
- 8.07.2009 The Complainant made a request to Walsall Council to access and inspect the building control registers. (The public sector information holder).
- 17.07.2009 The Council contacted the complainant and advised that it considered that any information provided under the EIR was covered by copyright, preventing its re-use without a licence or permission. The Council therefore asked the complainant to clarify his intended use of the information.
- 31.07.2009 The complainant confirmed in a telephone conversation with the public authority that he wished to access the information relevant to point 1.1(f) – (h) and 3.8 of the CON29R form, and that he intended to offer this information for resale.
- 31.07.2009 The Council wrote to the complainant and explained that in light of his intended use of the information, the Council was likely to apply the exception at regulation 12(5)(c). However, the Council advised that this was subject to the outcome of a public interest test and a more substantive response would follow.
- 4.09.2009 The Council sent a refusal notice to the complainant. The Council withheld under the exception at regulation 12(5)(c) and provided a précis of the public interest test it had conducted in support of applying the exception.
- 17.09.2009 The complainant wrote to the Council and asked it to review its decision.
- 20.10.2009 The Council convened a panel which carried out an internal review of the response to the complainant’s request. The review upheld the original decision to withhold the requested information.
- 4.11.2009 The outcome of the internal review was communicated to the complainant.
- 13.11.2009 The complainant lodged a complaint with the UK Information Commissioners Office.
- 3.12.2009 The Information Commissioners Office wrote to Walsall Council to inform that a complaint had been received
- 15.12.2009 Walsall Council responded providing additional information.
- 20.01.2010 The Commissioner contacted the Council and asked that it provide an explanation of why it considered the withheld information constituted its intellectual property.
- 19.02.2010 The Council wrote to the Commissioner with a detailed explanation of its reliance on the 12(5)(c) exception.
- 11.06.2010 The Council provided the Commissioner with an explanation of why it felt that the exception at regulation 12(4)(b) also applied to the requested information.
- 15.07.2010 The Information Commissioner’s Office published a Decision notice on this case.
Elapsed time of case = 372 days
Summary (Copied from the Decision Notice Reference: FER0279668)
“The complainant submitted a request to Walsall Council (‘the Council’) to inspect building control information. The complainant specified that he wished to view the records in person. The Council withheld the information under the exception at Regulation 12(5)(c), on the grounds that disclosure would be detrimental to the Council’s intellectual property rights. The Commissioner’s decision is that regulation 12(5)(c) is not engaged. During the course of the investigation, the Council decided to rely on the exception at regulation 12(4)(b) (manifestly unreasonable). The Commissioner has upheld this exception. The Council also breached regulation 14(2) by failing to provide a refusal notice within the statutory time for compliance, and regulation 14(3) by failing to cite an exception that it later relied upon in its refusal notice. The Council also breached regulation 9(1) by failing to offer the complainant appropriate advice and assistance. The Commissioner requires the Council to provide appropriate advice and assistance to the complainant about how he might refine his request so that it is no longer manifestly unreasonable. The Council must take these steps within 35 calendar days of this notice.”
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Case last updated: 5 August 2010
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