City of London Corporation

The complainant submitted a request to the City of London (CoL) seeking a list of ratepayers (limited companies and corporates only and not sole traders/individuals) that had been awarded Expanded Retail Relief for a specified period. The CoL refused the request on the basis of section 12(1) (cost limit) and section 31(1)(a) (law enforcement). The Commissioner’s decision is that the CoL is entitled to refuse to comply with the request on the basis of section 12(1), and that even if the request could be processed within the cost limit, such information would be exempt from disclosure on the basis of section 31(1)(a) of FOIA.