West Sussex County Council
- Date 1 July 2019
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) FOI 12: Not upheld, FOI 16: Upheld
The complainant has requested from West Sussex County Council information in relation to all previous requests received by the Council. The Council released some information and refused to comply with other parts of the request under section 12(1) of the FOIA (cost exceeds the appropriate limit). The complainant is dissatisfied with the Council’s reliance on section 12(1).
The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: the Council is entitled to rely on section 12(1) to refuse to comply with the remaining parts of the complainant’s request; and the Council breached section 16(1) of the FOIA as it did not consider whether it would be possible for the complainant to refine his request to bring it within the cost limit, at the time of the request.
The Commissioner requires the Council to provide adequate advice & assistance to help the complainant refine his request within the cost limit.
The Council must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.