Bishop Anthony Educational Trust

Through nine queries, the complainant has requested information from Bishop Anthony Educational Trust (BAET) about data protection matters. BAET provided answers to two of the questions, said it does not hold information in recorded form with regard to five of the requests, applied section 14(1) (vexatious request) to one request and appeared to rely on section 42(2) (legal professional privilege) to refuse to address the remaining request. The Commissioner’s decision is that: On the balance of probabilities BAET does not hold information within the scope of requests 3 and 6 and has complied with section 1(1) with regards to these requests. Request 2 is vexatious and BAET is not required to comply with it. BAET cannot rely on section 42(2) to refuse to confirm or deny that it holds information within the scope of requests 4 and 7. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation: Confirm or deny whether any information is held that falls within the scope of requests 4 and 7 and either disclose it or issue a fresh response which is compliant with section 17 of the FOIA. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2018/0212 dismissed.