Sheffield City Council

The complainant requested information from Sheffield City Council (the Council) relating to Community Triggers meeting notes. The Council refused to comply with the request, citing section 14(1) (vexatious request) of the FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has not demonstrated that the request was vexatious and was therefore not entitled to rely on section 14(1) to refuse it. She also found the Council did not comply with its obligations under section 17(5) (refusal of request). The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation: issue a fresh response to the request that does not rely on section 14(1) of the FOIA.