Decision 011/2023: Sale of Fornethy House – failure to respond
Authority: Glasgow City Council
Case Ref: 202300159
Summary
The Applicant asked the Authority for information about the acquisition of Fornethy House and its sale to a specified person. This decision finds that the Authority failed to respond to the requirement for review within the timescales allowed by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs).
Background
1. The Applicant made an information request to the Authority on 1 December 2022.
2. The Authority responded to the information request on 23 December 2022.
3. On 2 January 2023, the Applicant wrote to the Authority requiring a review of its decision.
4. The Applicant did not receive a response to her requirement for review.
5. The Applicant wrote to the Commissioner on 3 February 2023, stating that she was dissatisfied with the Authority’s failure to respond and applying to the Commissioner for a decision in terms of section 47(1) of FOISA. The enforcement provisions of FOISA apply to the enforcement of the EIRs, subject to specified modifications – see regulation 17.
6. The Commissioner determined that the application complied with section 47(2) of FOISA and that he had the power to carry out an investigation.
Investigation
7. Section 49(3)(a) of FOISA requires the Commissioner to notify public authorities of an application and to give them an opportunity to comment. The Commissioner did this on 7 February 2023.
8. The Commissioner received submissions from the Authority on 9 February 2023. These submissions are considered below.
9. It is apparent from the terms of the request that at least some of the information caught by it will be environmental information as defined by regulation 2(1) of the EIRs. In Decision 218/2007, the Commissioner confirmed, at paragraph 51, that where environmental information is concerned, there are two separate statutory frameworks for access to that information and, in terms of the legislation, an authority is required to consider the request under both FOISA and EIRs.
10. The Authority acknowledged that it had not responded to the requirement for review on time. It explained that the reason for the delay in responding was due to a key member of staff being on leave, which led to a delay in collating the information requested. In addition, the Authority explained, a further delay was caused by the time required to assess a large volume of legal information, to allow it to respond to the requirement for review.
11. Section 21(1) of FOISA gives Scottish public authorities a maximum of 20 working days following the date of receipt of the requirement to comply with a requirement for review. Again, this is subject to qualifications which are not relevant in this case. The same timescale is laid down by regulation 16(4) of the EIRs.
12. It is a matter of fact that the Authority did not provide a response to the Applicant’s requirement for review within 20 working days, so the Commissioner finds that it failed to comply with section 21(1) of FOISA and regulation 16(4) of the EIRs.
13. The Authority responded to the Applicant’s requirement for review on 7 February 2023, so the Commissioner does not require it to take any further action in relation to the Applicant’s application.
14. The Commissioner notes that, in its response of 7 February 2023, the Authority has apologised to the Applicant for its failure to respond to the requirement for review on time.
Decision
The Commissioner finds that the Authority failed to comply with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and with the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs) in dealing with the information request made by the Applicant. In particular, the Authority failed to respond to the Applicant’s requirement for review within the timescales laid down by section 21(1) of FOISA and regulation 16(4) of the EIRs. Given that the Authority has now responded to the Applicant’s requirement for review, he does not require the Authority to take any action.
Appeal
Should either the Applicant or the Authority wish to appeal against this decision, they have the right to appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law only. Any such appeal must be made within 42 days after the date of intimation of this decision.
Wendy Snedden
Freedom of Information Officer
14 February 2023
