Wandsworth Borough Council FOI Complaint Not Upheld

The ICO issued a Decision Notice finding that Wandsworth Borough Council's handling of an FOIA request was compliant with the Act. The council had refused to confirm or deny holding information under section 40(5B) (personal data) and section 31(3) (law enforcement) for part of the request, refused another part under section 21 (information accessible by other means), and confirmed it did not hold the remaining information. The Commissioner upheld the council's position regarding section 40(5B) and found no further information exists within scope. For affected public authorities handling similar FOIA complaints, this decision reinforces that section 40(5B) can properly be engaged where personal data is at issue, and that councils are not required to take additional steps when confirmed not to hold responsive information.

For public authorities and requesters alike, this Decision Notice illustrates the ICO's approach to balancing transparency obligations against exemptions for personal data and law enforcement purposes. Public authorities receiving similar multi-part requests should carefully document their searches and apply appropriate exemptions to each discrete element, as the ICO will assess each part separately. The decision also underscores that where a council confirms it does not hold information after reasonable searches, no further compliance action is required.