Durham County Council
- Date 30 August 2023
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) FOI 10(1): Upheld, FOI 31(1)(a): Not upheld
The complainant requested information about empty residential properties in County Durham. Durham County Council (the “council”) refused the request, citing the exemption for law enforcement and the prevention or detection of crime (section 31(1)(a)).The Commissioner’s decision is that the council appropriately applied the exemption in section 31(1)(a) to withhold the information but that it failed to respond in time and breached section 10(1). The Commissioner does not require the council to take any steps.