Essex County Council

The complainant has requested copies of minutes and reports of the Essex Area Child Protection Committees. Essex County Council disclosed the majority of the information it located however it withheld some information citing the exemption at section 40(2) – personal information. The Commissioner’s decision is that section 40(2) is correctly engaged for the names of officials that were redacted in Essex County Council’s response. However the council has not sufficiently demonstrated how the remaining withheld information constitutes personal data. The Commissioner also found a procedural breach of section 10 – time for compliance, and section 17 for failing to provide a refusal notice. Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: release the withheld information that is outlined for disclosure in this decision notice.