Beccles Town Council
- Date 3 April 2020
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.5.b: Not upheld, EIR 14.1: Upheld, EIR 5.1: Upheld
The complainant requested from Beccles Town Council (the Council) information regarding the legal advice relating to parking on Beccles Common. The Council refused the request under section 42(1) (legal professional privilege) of the FOIA. During the Commissioner’s investigation the Council reconsidered the request under the EIR and applied the exceptions for material in the course of completion (regulation 12(4)(d)), the course of justice (regulation 12(5)(b)) and protection of the environment (regulation 12(5)(g)) to withhold the information.
The Commissioner finds that the Council initially handled the request incorrectly under the FOIA and in so doing breached regulation 5(1) and regulation 14(1) of the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council correctly applied regulation 12(5)(b) (course of justice) to the withheld information. Therefore, the Commissioner does not require the Council to take any steps as a result of this decision. Information Tribunal appeal EA/2020/0161 appeal dismissed.