London Borough of Lambeth

The complainant submitted a series of refined requests for copies of communications between a local councillor and a building developer. The London Borough of Lambeth (the Council) initially relied on regulation 12(4)(b) and later 12(4)(a) to refuse the requests, stating that it was unable to identify information within scope. However, during the course of the Commissioner’s investigation the Council was able to identify and disclose some information to the complainant. The Commissioners decision is that the Council has now complied with the request, however it has breached regulation 5(1) and 5(2) by failing to provide the information to the complainant within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days. The Commissioner does not require any steps.