Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames

The complainant requested certain email correspondence held within the inboxes of three planning officers. Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (‘the council’) initially refused the request on the basis of regulations 12(5)(d), 12(5)(f) and 13 of the EIR. These exceptions concern the confidentiality of proceedings, the interests of the person who provided the information and personal data respectively. However, the council’s final position is that it doesn’t hold the requested information – regulation 12(4)(a) of the EIR. The Commissioner’s decision is that, on the balance of probabilities, the requested information isn’t held and regulation 12(4)(a) is engaged. The timeliness of the council’s internal review, however, didn’t comply with regulation 11(4). The Commissioner doesn’t require further steps.