Bristol City Council v The Information Commissioner
[2023] UKFTT 878 (GRC)
MO v The Information Commissioner & Anor
14 November 2023
[2023] UKFTT 966 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
Someone asked the city council for a report about sex venues. The council said no because releasing it could cause trouble for the people who wrote the report. A judge agreed with the council, saying protecting the report writers was more important than letting the person see the report.
Key Facts
- •Appellant requested information from Bristol City Council about reports submitted by the Fawcett Society on the negative impact of Sex Event Venues (SEVs).
- •Council initially withheld information citing personal data exemption, then claimed they didn't hold the information, and finally claimed confidentiality under section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
- •The Information Commissioner (IC) upheld the Council's reliance on section 41.
- •The Appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT).
- •The disputed information was a report submitted to the Council by Bristol Fawcett (a different legal entity from the Fawcett Society) in confidence.
- •The FTT considered the four criteria for section 41 FOIA, including the three-stage test from Coco v A N Clark and the public interest defence.
- •The FTT heard evidence that Bristol Fawcett members faced harassment due to their involvement in the SEV licensing debate.
- •Appellant argued for redacted disclosure, but the FTT found that the act of disclosure itself, regardless of redactions, posed a risk of further harassment.
Legal Principles
Section 41 FOIA: Information obtained in confidence is exempt if disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Coco v A N Clark (Engineers) Ltd three-stage test for breach of confidence: 1) necessary quality of confidence, 2) imparted in circumstances importing an obligation of confidence, 3) unauthorized use to the detriment of the party communicating it.
Coco v A N Clark (Engineers) Ltd [1968] FSR 415
Public interest defence to breach of confidence: A court must weigh the public interest in disclosure against the public interest in maintaining confidence.
HRH Prince of Wales v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2006] EWCA Civ 1776
Article 10 ECHR (right to freedom of expression) is a qualified right and can be restricted to protect confidential information.
European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The FTT found that all four criteria for section 41 FOIA were met. The public interest in maintaining confidentiality outweighed the public interest in disclosure, given the risk of further harassment to Bristol Fawcett members.
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