Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

The complainant made a six part request for information relating to the sharing of Registered Keeper data with private parking companies. The Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency refused the request citing both section 14(1) (vexatious request) and 14(2) of the FOIA (repeated request). The Commissioner’s decision is that the DVLA has failed to demonstrate that the request, as a whole, was vexatious. It was therefore not entitled to rely on section 14(1) of the FOIA to refuse the request. However, the Commissioner does accept that elements [5] and [6] of the request are repeated and therefore the DVLA was entitled to rely on section 14(2) of the FOIA to refuse those elements. The Commissioner requires the DVLA to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: issue a fresh response to elements [1], [2], [3] and [4] of the request that does not rely on section 14(1) of the FOIA.