ICO Decision: Lambeth Must Disclose School Redevelopment Emails

ICO Decision Notices

Filed February 26th, 2026

Detected March 6th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has ruled that the London Borough of Lambeth must disclose certain emails related to a school redevelopment project. The ICO found that the Council misapplied exemptions and breached data protection regulations, ordering disclosure within 30 days.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice against the London Borough of Lambeth concerning a request for information about a school redevelopment project. The ICO found that the Council improperly withheld information by misapplying regulation 12(5)(d) of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and also breached regulation 11. The decision requires the Council to disclose specific email threads from February and October 2024, with necessary redactions for personal data and out-of-scope information.

The Council must comply with this order within 30 calendar days of the decision notice date (February 26, 2026). Failure to comply could result in the ICO certifying the non-compliance to the High Court, potentially leading to contempt of court proceedings. This case highlights the importance of accurate application of information access exemptions and the consequences of non-compliance with ICO decisions for public authorities.

What to do next

Disclose specified email threads within 30 days
Redact personal data and out-of-scope information before disclosure

Penalties

Failure to comply may result in written certification to the High Court and potential contempt of court proceedings.

Source document (simplified)

London Borough of Lambeth

Date 26 February 2026
Sector Local government
Decision(s) EIR 11: Upheld, EIR 12(5)(d): Upheld The complainant has requested information about the redevelopment of a school site. The London Borough of Lambeth (“the Council”) withheld the requested information with reliance on regulation 12(5)(d). The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has misapplied regulation 12(5)(d) to the information within scope of the request. He also finds a breach of regulation 11. The Commissioner requires the Council to disclose the information contained in the email threads of February 2024 and October 2024, with redactions made for personal data and information that falls outside of the scope of the request. The public authority must take these steps 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.