Medway Council

The complainant has requested details held by the council about work carried out by one of its contractors on land adjacent to his property which resulted in damage to a boundary fence. The council provided him with information but the complainant considers that more is held. The council also applied section 21 to information which the complainant considers does not apply. It also redacted the name of some individuals under section 40. The Commissioner’s decision is that Medway Council was not correct to apply the FOI Act as the information is environmental information. The requests should therefore have been considered under the EIR and refusal notices issued under this legislation. The Commissioner has decided therefore that the council did not comply with the requirements of Regulation 14(3)(a) in its response. The Commissioner has substituted the equivalent exceptions into their place. He has found that Regulation 12(4)(a) applies to this information (information not held), as does Regulation 6(1)(b) (form and format of information). The Commissioner has also applied Regulation 5(3) to information which is the personal data of the complainant.
The Commissioner does not require the authority to take any steps.