North East Lincolnshire Council
- Date 15 April 2014
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) FOI 40: Not upheld
The complainant has requested from North East Lincolnshire Council (the “Council”) a copy of an Independent Person’s Report that was presented to a standards referral panel when investigating a complaint. The Council refused the request by relying on the exemption set out in section 40(2) of FOIA. Whilst the Commissioner found that the section 40(2) was engaged he also found that the correct approach would have been for the Council to have refused to confirm or deny if it held the requested information in accordance with section 40(5)(b)(i) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take no steps. Information Tribunal EA/2014/0105 dismissed