Aylesbury Vale District Council
- Date 31 March 2016
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.5.b: Not upheld, EIR 14: Upheld, EIR 5.1: Upheld
The complainant has requested legal advice relating to a planning matter. Aylesbury Vale District Council withheld the information under section 42 of the FOIA (the exemption for legal professional privilege). During the Commissioner’s investigation the council reconsidered the request under the EIR and withheld the information under the exception for adverse affect to the course of justice - regulation 12(5)(b). The Commissioner’s decision is that Aylesbury Vale District Council: Wrongly handled the request under the FOIA and breached regulation 5(1); Failed to issue an EIR refusal notice in time and breached regulation 14; Correctly applied regulation 12(5)(b) to withhold the requested information. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps.