Ribble Valley Borough Council

The complainant requested various information about a legal easement at a specific location. Ribble Valley Borough Council (the Council) confirmed that some information was available on its planning portal and stated that the remaining information held relevant to the request was exempt under section 40(2) (personal data), section 41 (information provided in confidence) and section 42 (legal professional privilege). During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation, the Council accepted that the request should have been considered under the EIR as opposed to the FOIA. It reconsidered the request under the EIR and stated that it was now relying on regulation 13 (personal data), regulation 12(5)(f) (interests of the provider) and regulation 12(5)(b) (course of justice). The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council correctly applied regulation 12(5)(f) to the request. He does not require any steps to be taken.