Chigwell Parish Council

The complainant requested from Chigwell Parish Council (“the council”) the names of councillors serving in specified years at the council. He also requested a copy of the Acceptance of Office certificates for parish councillors who were elected to the council on 6 May 2021. The council applied section 21 of FOIA to part 1 of the request information (information easily accessible to the applicant by other means). It said that it does not hold any information falling within part 2 of the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the council was correct to apply section 21 to withhold the information falling within part 1 of the request from disclosure. He has also decided that, on a balance of probabilities, the council does not hold a copy of the councillors’ Acceptance of Office Certificates as regards part 2 of the request. The Commissioner does not require the council to take any steps.