City of York Council
- Date 7 May 2026
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) FOI 1: Partly upheld, FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 16: Upheld, FOI 21: Not upheld, FOI 36: Not upheld, FOI 40: Upheld
The complainant submitted a multi-part request for information from City of York Council (the “council”) about its membership of Stonewall, related expenditure, and internal consideration of safeguarding concerns and single sex services. The council disclosed some information, stated some was not held, and withheld other information under sections 21 and 36 of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that:
• Part 1: Section 21 was correctly applied to the spending information; however, the council breached section 16 by failing to provide adequate advice and assistance in its original response. This was remedied during the investigation.
• Part 2: Some information constitutes the complainant’s personal data and is exempt under section 40(1). Section 36(2)(b)(i), (ii) and (c) are engaged in respect of all remaining information, and the public interest favours maintaining the exemption.
• Part 6: The council complied with section 1(1) by correctly confirming that no information was held.
• Part 7: The council breached sections 1(1) and 10(1) by incorrectly stating that no information was held and only correcting this during the investigation.
• Personal data (parts 2 and 7): Some information constitutes the complainant’s own personal data and is exempt under section 40(1); no steps are required in respect of that information.
The Commissioner does not require the council to take any steps.