Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council

The complainant has made eight requests for information about surveillance cameras. Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council withheld some of the requested information under the exemptions provided by section 31(1)(a) (Law enforcement) and section 43(2) (Commercial interests) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council is entitled to withhold some of the information under section 31(1)(a) and that the public interest favours maintaining that exemption. However, the Commissioner has found that the Council is not entitled to withhold the remainder of the information under either exemption. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation: For request 1, the Council should disclose the information. For request 8, the Council should disclose the information referred to as ‘Document 2’ in this decision, except for paragraphs 3, 3.1, 3.2, 4.0, and any personal data that should be redacted in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.