Ribble Valley Borough Council

The complainant has requested information about the approval of planning applications and the involvement of named staff.  The Council refused the request citing sections 21 – information accessible to applicant by other means; 40 –personal information; and 41 – information provided in confidence, of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that Ribble Valley Borough Council is entitled to rely on section 21 for some of the information requested but not all, and that sections 40 and 41 are engaged.  She also finds that for the part of the request falling under the EIR, regulation 6(1)b is engaged.  The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: disclose the information for questions 1-8 of the request in the form and format requested.  The public authority 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.