Catherine Louise Holden v The Information Commissioner
[2023] UKFTT 764 (GRC)
Edmund Plowden v The Information Commissioner
10 July 2023
[2023] UKFTT 596 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A councilor asked for a report on parking fees. The council said it was incomplete. A judge looked at new information and said the report was finished and should be made public because the public has a right to know.
Key Facts
- •Edmund Plowden, a Green Party Councillor, requested a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) feasibility report from Bristol City Council.
- •The Council initially withheld the report under s22 FOIA (information intended for future publication), later citing regulation 12(4)(d) EIR (information in the course of completion).
- •The Information Commissioner (IC) upheld the Council's withholding under regulation 12(4)(d) EIR but found a breach of regulation 5(2) EIR for late response.
- •Plowden appealed the IC's decision to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT).
- •The FTT heard new evidence showing the report was a standalone document, commissioned to inform a consultation, rather than being part of an incomplete decision-making process.
Legal Principles
Public authorities must make environmental information available on request (with exceptions).
Regulation 5(1) EIR
Exceptions to disclosure require both the application of a specific exception and that the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
Regulation 12(1,2,4) EIR
Regulation 12(4)(d) EIR, relating to material in the course of completion, must be interpreted restrictively and does not apply to complete work, even if it is part of a larger project. The public interest test considers the circumstances of each case.
Montague v IC and Department for International Trade [2022] UKUT 104 (AAC), Highways England Company Ltd. v Information Commissioner and Henry Manisty [2018] UKUT 423 (AAC)
Outcomes
The appeal is allowed.
The FTT found the report was a complete standalone document and did not fall under regulation 12(4)(d) EIR. Even if it did, the public interest favoured disclosure.
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