Forest of Dean District Council

The complainant requested various information in respect of the Mannings Farm Development at Drybrook. The Forest of Dean District Council (the Council) refused items 2 and 3 of the request on the basis of section 21 (information available to the applicant by other means) of the FOIA. It did however provide some information within its internal review response.  The Commissioner’s decision is that: the Council has failed to demonstrate that it has conducted a reasonable and proportionate search of its records to identify all information falling within the scope of item 2 the request. Section 21 is not engaged in relation to item 2 of the request. The Council should have considered item 3 of the request under the EIR. The Council breached regulation 11(4) of the EIR as it failed to communicate the outcome of its internal review within the required timeframe. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Conduct additional searches aimed at identifying all of the information held in relation to item 2 of the request and issue a fresh response which does not rely on section 21 of the FOIA. Reconsider item 3 of the request under the EIR and issue a fresh response to the complainant under the provisions of the EIR.