Castle Point Borough Council

The complainant has requested information from the Castle Point Borough Council (“the Council”) relating to a list of financial contributions for affordable housing made in the last 10 years. The Council refused to comply with the request citing section 12 (cost limit) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that: The Council was entitled to refuse to comply with the request under section 12(1) of the FOIA. The Council breached section 10(1) of FOIA in that it failed to provide a valid response to the request within the statutory time frame of 20 working days. The Commissioner also finds that the Council did not comply with its obligation under section 16 to offer advice and assistance. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation: Provide the complainant with reasonable assistance on how to limit the scope of their request so that it can be complied with within the appropriate limit.