Lincolnshire County Council

The complainant requested information relating to the Council’s decision to end the Stamford Scholarship Scheme. The Council supplied some information but it refused to provide copies of legal advice and cited the exemption under section 42(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the FOIA”). It said that the public interest did not favour disclosure of the information. The Commissioner investigated and decided that the exemption was engaged and that the public interest favoured maintaining the exemption. He found breaches of section 10(1), 1(1)(a), 17(1) and 17(1)(a)(b) and (c). The Commissioner does not require any steps to be taken. Information Tribunal appeal number EA/2011/0145 dismissed.