Billingham Town Council

The complainant has requested from Billingham Town Council (the Council) information in relation to a phased return to work from long-term absence of a specific Council employee. The Council provided parts of the information requested and decided to withhold the remainder relying on section 40(2) (personal information), stating that it contains sensitive personal data. The Commissioner has exercised her discretion to consider section 40(5) (personal information). Her decision is that section 40(5) is engaged and that the Council should have refused to confirm or deny whether it held the requested information. The Commissioner also found that the Council has breached the requirement of section 17(7) by failing to inform the complainant of his right to complain to the Commissioner. The Commissioner does not require the Council to take any steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2018/0203 dismissed.