Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

The complainant requested from Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (the Council) information regarding Serco Waste Contract. The Council refused to disclose information to questions 1 and 2 of the request and cited regulation 12(5)(e) (commercial confidentiality) of the EIR. 
The Commissioner’s decision is that regulation 12(5)(e) is engaged, but the public interest favours disclosure. Therefore, the Council is not entitled to rely on this exception to refuse to provide the withheld information.

The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• Disclose the information withheld under regulation 12(5)(e) of the EIR, ensuring that any personal data is redacted where necessary.
The Council must take this step 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.