London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The complainant has requested, from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (LBRUT), information about estimated costs of renovating a health suite at Pools on the Park, a Grade II listed building. LBRUT originally denied holding some information, and refused to disclose other information on the basis of section 43(2) of FOIA (commercial interests); LBRUT also disclosed other information, at internal review stage. During the Commissioner’s investigation, LBRUT retrospectively applied section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious requests) to the request; 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 the request, 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.