Chief Constable Lancashire Constabulary

The complainant requested information about the payment of specified court costs, together with the number of times any action had been taken in connection with those proceedings. Ultimately, Lancashire Constabulary refused to confirm or deny whether it held the requested information, by virtue of section 40(5B)(a)(i) of FOIA – the ‘neither confirm nor deny’ provision for third party personal information. The Commissioner’s decision is that Lancashire Constabulary was entitled to issue a ‘neither confirm nor deny’ response in accordance with section 40(5B)(a)(i) of FOIA for the reasons set out in this notice. The Commissioner also finds that Lancashire Constabulary complied with its section 16 of FOIA advice and assistance obligations. However, Lancashire Constabulary breached section 17 of FOIA by failing to specify which subsection of section 40(5B) it was relying on in its refusal notice. No steps are required as a result of this notice.