London Borough of Waltham Forest

The complainant submitted a request to the London Borough of Waltham Forest (the council) for information on its IT hardware and software. In this request, they confirmed that they wished to receive this information in tabular form and in hard copy to a specified postal address. From the evidence provided to him, the Commissioner finds that the council has not complied with the provisions of section 11 as it did not provide the disclosed information in the complainant’s preferred format. The Commissioner also finds that the council’s refusal notice in relation to the withheld information did not comply with the obligations set out in section 17(1). The Commissioner requires the council to provide the complainant with a tabulated, hard copy version of the disclosed information to the specified address and a valid refusal notice which complies with section 17(1). The public authority must take these steps 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.