Sodbury Town Council
- Date 5 September 2022
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 13.1: Not upheld, EIR 14.2: Upheld, EIR 14.3: Upheld
The complainant submitted an information request to Sodbury Town Council (“the Council”) for correspondence relating to a stopping up order along [address redacted]. The Council relied upon section 40(2) to withhold the information, however, the Council should have considered the request under the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council is entitled to withhold the information under Regulation 13(1) of the EIR. However, in failing to specify the EIR exceptions it was relying on, when refusing the request, within 20 working days, the Council has breached regulations 14(2) and 14(3) of the EIR.
The Commissioner does not require the Council to take any steps as a result of this decision notice. First-tier tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) information rights appeal EA/2022/0283 under appeal.