Oakengates Town Council

The complainant has requested information relating to the suspension of the former Town Clerk of Oakengates Town Council (the “council”). The council refused the request, withholding the information under the exemptions for law enforcement, commercial interests and personal data. The Commissioner’s decision is that all the requested information constitutes the personal data of a third party and that disclosure of the information would be unfair under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). He has concluded that the information is, therefore, exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA. The Commissioner also finds that the council failed to issue a proper refusal notice. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps.