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Hafan

Wealden District Council

  • Date 27 February 2026
  • Sector Local government
  • Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 36: Upheld, FOI 40(2): Partly upheld, FOI 3(2): Partly upheld

The complainant requested information, specifically correspondence and notes relating to a particular Councillor, from Wealden District Council (“the Council”). Having viewed the information which the Council has refused to disclose to the complainant on the basis that it is not held by the Council for the purposes of FOIA, the Commissioner’s decision is that some information, relating to the premature collection of council tax direct debit payments, is held by the Council for the purposes of FOIA. However, he accepts that the remainder of the information is not held by the Council for the purposes of FOIA. 

The Commissioner’s decision that the Council is entitled to rely on section 40(2) (personal information) of FOIA to withhold the names of Council officers and Councillors, and some information relating to the personal circumstances of Councillors. However, he finds that the Council is not entitled to rely on section 40(2) of FOIA to withhold some generic information relating to Council officers. 

The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council is entitled to rely on section 36(2)(b)(ii) and section 36(2)(c) (prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs) to withhold information within the scope of the request. He also finds that the Council breached section 10 (time for compliance) of FOIA by failing to respond to the request within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days. The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.

In respect of the information which the Commissioner finds to be held by the Council for the purposes of FOIA, indicated in the closed annex, the Council must either disclose that information to the complainant or issue an appropriate refusal notice.  In respect of the information which the Commissioner finds does not engage section 40(2) of FOIA, indicated in the closed annex, the Council must disclose that information to the complainant. 

The Council 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.