South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

The complainant has requested information about allegations of child sexual abuse made against staff. The above public authority relied on section 12 of FOIA to refuse the request. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public authority has not demonstrated that section 12(2) of FOIA applies to parts [1], [2] and [3] of the request. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: Issue a fresh response, to parts 1 and 2 of the request, that does not rely on section 12(2) of FOIA or a claim that the cost of identifying whether information is held would exceed £450.