Wales Interpretation and Translation Service – Complaint Upheld (United Kingdom, 2019)

The complainant requested copies of minutes of the Wales Interpretation and Translation Service´ meetings. The Cardiff Council provided him with redacted copies. In particular, the names of the attendees were omitted. In substantiating its response, the Cardiff Council cited section 40(2) and section 43(2) of the FOIA. The complainant filled a complaint with the ICO because he wanted to have access to such information. The first step for the Commissioner is to determine whether the exception set forth in Articles 40(2) and 43(2) FOIA apply to the case. As per the applicability of Article Articles 40(2) FOIA, it must be determined whether the withheld information constitutes personal data and, in the affirmative, whether disclosure of that data would breach any of the data protection principles under the Data Protection Act. According to the ICO the information at stake is personal data. The fact that information constitutes the personal data of identifiable living individuals does not automatically exclude it from disclosure under the FOIA. The second element of the test is to determine whether disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. In the present case, the most relevant principle is the one protected under Article 5(1)(a) GDPR: "Personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject". The Commissioner considers that the most likely applicable lawful bases is the legitimate interest of the controller under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. In considering the application of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR in the context of a request for information under FOIA it is necessary to consider the three-part test: (i) legitimate interest, (ii) necessity and (iii) balancing of conflicting interests. The Commissioner accepts that the complainant has (i) a legitimate interest in seeing the requested information and that, as an advocate for the local deaf community, the disclosure is (ii) necessary for me