Catworth Parish Council

The complainant requested information relating to a Landscape and Visual Study from Catworth Parish Council (“the Parish Council”). The Parish Council confirmed that it holds information within the scope of the request, however it has neither disclosed a copy of this information or issued a valid refusal notice. The Commissioner’s decision is that the Parish Council had failed to comply with section 17 of FOIA as it had not cited a specific exemption as its basis for withholding the requested information. The Commissioner requires the Parish Council to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation: Issue a fresh response to the request. It should first consider whether any of the information requested may be environmental information as defined in regulation 2(1) of the EIR and ensure that the fresh response is issued under the correct access regime(s). It should either disclose the requested information or issue a valid refusal notice in line with section 17 of FOIA / regulation 14 of the EIR.