Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

The complainant requested information in relation to the decision by Somerset County Council to close a number of libraries in the county. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public authority correctly withheld information on the basis of the exemption at section 36(2)(b)(ii) of the Act. However, the public authority breached sections 1(1)(a) and 10(1) of the Act by not informing the complainant that it held no information relating to certain parts of the request. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps.