Oxford City Council

The complainant requested from Oxford City Council information relating to financial support for organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council initially withheld the information under section 43(2) (commercial information). At internal review stage, the Council withdrew reliance upon section 43(2), and applied section 12 (costs), whilst at the same time offering the complainant advice and assistance in order to submit a request that would not engage section 12. The complainant has not disputed the Council’s application of section 12, but has made a new request based on the Council’s advice and assistance. To date, the Council has not issued a response to the complainant’s new request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has breached section 10, as it has not issued a response to the complainant’s new request. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: Issue a response to the complainant’s new request of 7 December 2022 in accordance with FOIA.