Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary

The complainant submitted five information requests to Cheshire Constabulary regarding different matters related to hunting. The Constabulary refused to comply with the requests, considering them to be vexatious.

The Commissioner’s decision is that the Constabulary incorrectly handled the requests under FOIA instead of the EIR and failed to demonstrate that the exception provided under regulation 12(4)(b) is engaged and is therefore not entitled to rely on this exception.

The Commissioner requires the Constabulary to issue a fresh response that does not rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR, for each of the five requests.

The Constabulary 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 FOIA and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.