Chief Constable of Gwent Police

1. The complainant requested information about the weeding of PNC LoS records for stolen and lost vehicles. Gwent Police relied on section 14(1) of FOIA (vexatious request) to refuse the request.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the request was not vexatious and therefore Gwent Police was not entitled to rely upon section 14(1) of FOIA to refuse it. The Commissioner has also found that, on the balance of probabilities, the council did not provide all of the information held falling within scope of the complainant’s request. 
2. The Commissioner requires Gwent Police to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation.
•    Issue a fresh response to the complainant’s request of 11 December 2024, that does not rely on section 14(1) of FOIA, 
Gwent Police must take this step 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.