The complainant has requested information relating to the approval of a Homes of Multiple Occupancy (“HMO”) licence application for a specific property. South Tyneside Council (“the Council”) refused to respond to the request, citing section 14(1) of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council is entitled to rely on section 14(1) of FOIA to refuse the request. The Commissioner does however find that the Council breached section 10 of FOIA, as it did not respond within 20 working days. The Commissioner does not require further steps.