London Borough of Lewisham
- Date 3 July 2023
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.5.e: Partly upheld, EIR 5.1: Upheld, EIR 5.2: Upheld
The complainant requested information from the London Borough of Lewisham Council (“the Council”) relating to the awarding of a contract for the expansion of a school. The Council provided some information within the scope of the request but withheld some of the requested information under regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR (commercial confidentiality). The complainant does not believe the Council has disclosed all of the information it holds within the scope of the request.
The Commissioner’s decision is that: the Council is entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR to withhold, some, but not all of the information withheld on this basis, specifically, his decision is that the exception is not engaged for the names of the unsuccessful bidders; on the balance of probabilities, the Council has failed to identify all of the information it holds within the scope of the request; the Council breached regulation 5(2) of the EIR as it failed to respond to the request in full within 20 working days.
The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: disclose the names of the unsuccessful bidders withheld under regulation 12(5)(e); issue a fresh response to the request, following searches aimed at identifying all information held within the scope of the request.