Reigate and Banstead Borough Council

The complainant requested correspondence exchanged with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in relation to a property which she owns. Reigate and Banstead Borough Council withheld the information because it considered that the information was the personal data of a third party. The Commissioner’s decision is that any information falling within the scope of the request would have been the complainant’s own personal data. The Commissioner has therefore taken the decision to apply section 40(1) of the FOIA herself proactively to prevent disclosure. The Council also failed to issue a refusal notice within 20 working days and thus breached section 17 of the FOIA. The Commissioner does not require further steps.