Bristol City Council

The complainant submitted a request to Bristol City Council (“the Council”) seeking access to reports, investigations, internal documents, and correspondence about allegations of misleading the courts, perjury, and related issues. The Council refused to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information, relying on section 41(2) of FOIA (information provided in confidence). The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council was not entitled to rely on section 41(2) of FOIA to neither confirm nor deny whether it holds information falling within the scope of the request. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. To issue a fresh response to the request as required by section 1 of FOIA, without relying upon section 41(2) to neither confirm or deny (“NCND”) whether it holds relevant information, and, If it holds information, to either disclose it or issue a refusal notice that complies with section 17 of FOIA, specifying any exemptions relied upon and (where required) providing its reasons for doing so.