London Borough of Croydon

The complainant has requested correspondence between the London Borough of Croydon (“LB Croydon”) and a firm of solicitors. Initially, LB Croydon gave an unclear response which appeared to rely on section 42 (legal professional privilege exemption) which it did not clarify at internal review. It clarified its position in subsequent correspondence and confirmed that it sought to rely on section 42 as its basis for not disclosing information it held within the scope of the request that was not otherwise the complainant’s personal data. The Commissioner’s decision is that LB Croydon is entitled to rely on section 42 as its basis for withholding information it holds within the scope of the request that was not otherwise the requester’s personal data. It should have refused to confirm or deny whether it held any of the requester’s personal data under section 40(5) of the FOIA. No steps are required. First-tier tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) information rights appeal EA/2022/0273 appeal dismissed.