Arts Council England

In two separate requests the complainant has requested information from Arts Council England (ACE) about a draft letter and Acceptance in Lieu Panel recommendations and correspondence. With regard to part [1] of request 1, ACE provided relevant information it holds. With regard to part [2] of request 1, ACE provided some relevant information and has refused to fully comply with this part under section 12(1) of the FOIA (cost exceeds appropriate limit).  ACE’s final position with regard to request 2 is that it is refusing to comply with this request under section 14(1) of the FOIA (vexatious request). The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: ACE has complied with section 1(1) with regard to part [1] of request 1. ACE can rely on section 12(1) to refuse to comply with part [2] of request 2. ACE complied with section 16(1) with regard to this part as it offered the complainant adequate advice as to how he might refine his request to bring complying with it under the cost limit. ACE can rely on section 14(1) to refuse to comply with request 2. ACE breached section 10(1) of the FOIA with regard to part [1] of request 1 as it did not comply with section 1(1) within 20 working days.  ACE breached section 17(5) with regard to part [2] of request 1 and request 2 as it did not issue a refusal notice within the above timeframe. The Commissioner does not require ACE to take any remedial steps. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2019/0304 dismissed.