Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police
- Date 15 June 2023
- Sector Police and criminal justice
- Decision(s) FOI 1(1): Partly upheld, FOI 21: Upheld, FOI 31(1)(a): Not upheld, FOI 31(1)(b): Not upheld
The complainant submitted a request to the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police (“Lincolnshire Police”) for information and correspondence between the Chief Constable and Police and Crime Commissioner in relation to the reduction of the number of PCSOs.
The Commissioner’s decision is that Lincolnshire Police was entitled to rely on sections 31(1)(a) and (b) of FOIA to withhold information in relation to questions one and three of the request, but that Lincolnshire Police incorrectly applied section 21(1) of FOIA to question three. He also considers that on the balance of probabilities, Lincolnshire Police does not hold any information within the scope of question two of the request. However, he finds that by failing to confirm this, Lincolnshire Police breached section 1(1) of FOIA.
The Commissioner does not require further steps as a result of this decision notice. First-tier tribunal (General Regulatory chamber) information rights appeal EA/2023/0330 appeal struck out.