Bristol City Council

The complainant has requested all held information relating to board meetings for Bristol Holdings Limited during the 2019 and 2020 calendar years. Bristol City Council initially withheld the information under sections 43(2) (commercial interests) and 36(2)(c) (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs). During the course of investigation, the Council informed the Commissioner that it should have refused to comply with the request under section 14(1) (vexatious requests) on the grounds of burden. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council is entitled to refuse to comply with the request under section 14(1). However, in failing to respond to the request and issue a refusal notice, within the statutory timescale, the Council breached sections 10(1) and 17(5). The Commissioner does not require further steps.