Ceredigion County Council

The complainant made a batch request for information to a number of public authorities about reports of attempts to obtain a school place by fraudulent means. Ceredigion County Council (the council) provided some anonymised information in scope of the request due to low numbers but failed to cite the exemption it was relying on to withhold data. 
The Commissioner’s decision is that in the circumstances of this case,  the council was not entitled to withhold the information or rely upon section 40(2) (third-party personal data) of FOIA to anonymise the requested information.
The Commissioner requires the council to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation.
•        Disclose the requested information.
The council must take this step within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.