Pendle Borough Council – Dismissed (United Kingdom, 2019)

Dismissed
Information Commissioner's Office28 October 2019United Kingdom
final
Dismissed

General GDPR enforcement action

This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.

Pendle Borough Council refused to release an inspection report, claiming it contained personal data. The ICO agreed, stating that releasing the report would violate privacy rights. This decision highlights the balance between transparency and privacy, showing that not all information requests can be fulfilled if they infringe on personal privacy.

What happened

Pendle Borough Council refused to disclose an inspection report, citing privacy concerns under the FOIA.

Who was affected

Individuals whose personal data was contained in the inspection report requested by the complainant.

What the authority found

The ICO found that the refusal to disclose the report was justified, as releasing it would violate privacy rights under the GDPR and FOIA.

Why this matters

This case illustrates the importance of balancing the right to information with privacy rights. It serves as a reminder for public bodies to carefully assess information requests to ensure they do not compromise personal privacy.

GDPR Articles Cited

Art. 4(1) GDPR
Art. 5(1)(a) GDPR
Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR

National Law Articles

Section 3(2) DPA
Section 40(2) FOIA
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The complainant has requested a copy of an inspection report named kennels to the Pendle Borough Council (the Council). The Council refused as it considered it to be third party personal data under 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The complainant challenged the decision before the ICO. Is the information personal data? Would disclosure contravene GDPR principles ? Which are the legitimate interest at stake? Is disclosure necessary? The ICO confirmed that the requested information was considered to be personal data pursuant to Section 3(2) of the Data Protection Act (DPA) and Article 4(1) GDPR. Pursuant to the FOIA and the GDPR, the ICO balanced the right to information and the protection of the personal data at issue in order to assess if the disclosure would contravene Article (1)(a) GDPR principle. It found that the access to information request did not override the third party right to privacy. The ICO found that the refusal of disclosure was justified and it was legitimate to withhold the information under section 40(2) of the FOIA by virtue of section 40(3A)(a) for transparency purposes.

Outcome

Dismissed

The complaint or investigation was dismissed.

Related Enforcement Actions (0)

No other enforcement actions found for Pendle Borough Council in UK

This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.

Details

Decision Date

28 October 2019

Authority

Information Commissioner's Office

GDPRhub ID

gdprhub-176

About this data

Data: GDPRhub (noyb.eu)
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Cite as: Cookie Fines. Pendle Borough Council - United Kingdom (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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