London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The complainant has requested, from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (LBRUT), various information relating to an indoor renovation project at Pools on the Park, a Grade II listed building. This decision notice concerns four complaints that the complainant made to the Commissioner (references IC-300052-G2Z8, IC-305377-Y5Q5, IC-305634-L8K7 and IC-327841-D8P9), about four requests. In response to those four requests, LBRUT said it doesn’t hold some of the requested information, disclosed other information, and withheld other information on the basis of various exemptions – sections 22 (information intended for future publication), 40(2) (personal information) and 43 (commercial interests) of FOIA. The Commissioner investigated the above cases simultaneously. During the Commissioner’s investigation, LBRUT retrospectively applied section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious requests) to all four requests; in the alternative, LBRUT maintained its original and internal review positions. The Commissioner’s decision is that LBRUT is entitled to refuse to comply with all four requests, on the basis of section 14(1). However, he also finds that LBRUT breached section 17(5) of FOIA, due to its late reliance on section 14(1). The Commissioner doesn’t require any steps.