Westminster City Council

The complainant has requested information on a complete and up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data held by Westminster Council under the FOI Act (‘the Act’). The council applied section 31(1)(a) of the Act to the information stating that it would prejudice the prevention and detection of crime to disclose the information because it would provide details which would facilitate the commission of fraud against the council. The Commissioner’s decision is that the exemption in section 31(1)(a) of the Act was engaged however the public interest in the disclosure of the information outweighs that in the exemption being maintained. The council was therefore not correct to withhold the information under section 31(1)(a). The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: To disclose the information to the complainant. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2018/0033 allowed.