Mid Sussex District Council
- Date 8 March 2024
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) EIR 12.5.b: Not upheld, EIR 13.1: Partly upheld, EIR 5.1: Not upheld
The complainant requested information from Mid Sussex District Council (“the Council”) relating to a specific planning application.
The Commissioner’s decision is that on the balance of probabilities, the Council does not hold further information within the scope of the request which has not already been disclosed to the complainant or withheld under an exception. He also finds that the Council is entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(b) (course of justice) to withhold some information within the scope of the request.
The Commissioner finds that the Council is entitled to rely on regulation 13(1) (personal data) to withhold some information within the scope of the request. However, it is not entitled to rely on regulation 13(1) to withhold a payment reference.
The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
Disclose the withheld payment reference to the complainant.
The Council must take these steps within 35 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.