London Borough of Lambeth

In a five part request, of which four are requests under FOIA, the complainant has requested information from Lambeth London Borough Council (‘the Council’) associated with a long running dispute with the Council.  The Council has disclosed information within scope of three parts and is withholding the information within scope of the remaining part under section 42(1) of FOIA, which concerns legal professional privilege. The Commissioner’s decision is as follows: On the balance of probabilities, the Council has disclosed all the information it holds that falls within scope of Q3 and Q4 of the request and has complied with section 1(1) of FOIA. The Council has incorrectly applied section 42(1) to Q1 of the request. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation. Disclose to the complainant the information they requested in Q1 of the request.