Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The complainant has requested from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (the Council) information relating to bus shelters carrying advertising. Only one request concerns this notice, which asked the Council to disclose the financial benefits it accrues from the advertising annually and over the life of its contract with a third party. The Council refused the request under the ‘commercial interests’ (section 43(2)) exemption in FOIA and later introduced the ‘information provided in confidence’ (section 41(1)) exemption as an additional ground for withholding the financial benefit information. The contractor has also raised the possibility that the ‘prohibition on disclosure’ (section 44(1)(b)) exemption would also be engaged. The Commissioner has determined that none of these exemptions are engaged. He therefore requires the Council to disclose the requested information to ensure compliance with the legislation. The public authority must take this step within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.