Sussex Police

The complainant asked Sussex Police (the police) for the personal email addresses of all of its headquarters staff. The police said that the information was held but withheld it, initially relying on the section 40(2) FOIA exemption (personal information); they later relied additionally on the section 36(2) exemption (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs). The Commissioner considered the application of the section 36(2)(c) exemption and decided that the police had acted correctly in relying on it and that the balance of the public interest favoured maintaining the exemption. He did not proceed to consider application of the section 40(2) FOIA exemption. The Commissioner does not require the police to take any steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.