Chief Constable Northamptonshire Police

The complainant has requested information about the Developed Vetting (DV) of a former senior police officer.  Northamptonshire Police confirmed that it held some information but refused to disclose it, citing section 21(1) (Information  reasonably accessible to applicant by other means). The complainant disagreed with the application of the exemption and also believed that Northamptonshire Police had failed to respond to other parts of the request in accordance with FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that Northamptonshire Police was entitled to rely on section 21(1) to refuse to disclose the  information requested at Q4 of the request. However, he finds that its response to Q5 was not compliant with section 1(1) (General right of access) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires Northamptonshire Police to issue a fresh response to Q5 of the request. It must confirm or deny whether it holds any recorded information within scope and, if information is held, either disclose it or issue a refusal notice which complies with section 17 of FOIA.