Request for information received relating to a review of a complaint
Reference: 21028
Date Added: Friday, October 22, 2021
Category:
Disclosure Details
Thank you for your e-mail of 27th September 2021, in which you asked for the following information from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent (OPCC) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
Please will you provide me with a copy of the information (that it was not a policing matter) you have used to come to this incorrect conclusion?
I can neither confirm nor deny whether the OPCC holds the information that you have requested.
We are not obliged to confirm or deny whether we hold the information you have requested as if held, this would relate to personal information. Section 40(5) of the Act provides that there is no duty to confirm or deny whether we hold the information.
The fact section 40(5) of the Act has been cited, should not be taken as an indication that the information you requested is or is not held by the OPCC. The terms of this exemption in the FOIA mean that we do not have to consider whether or not it would be in the public interest for us to reveal whether or not the information is held. Simply put, FOI is not a private transaction between the public authority and the applicant, therefore any response other than neither confirm nor deny’ would amount to the OPCC placing information into the public domain that confirms or denies that you may or may not have made a complaint about the police and may or may not have interacted with the police and also the OPCC. This would be effectively telling a story about you, as well others, which constitutes personal data which would be in breach of the rights provided by the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations; namely the first data protection principle, which states that personal data will be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently
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You can find out more about Section 40 by reading the FOIA which is available at Freedom of Information Act 2000 (legislation.gov.uk). Further guidance can also be found on the Information Commissioner’s website.
Should you wish to submit a request for information the OPCC may hold on you, your request should be made under Data Protection legislation as a Subject Access Request and not under Freedom of Information legislation. If you do wish to make a Subject Access Request, you will need to submit the relevant documentation for your request to be processed. Details can be found using the following link: Making a Subject Access Request | Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner (pcc.police.uk)
You have the right to appeal our decision if you think it is incorrect. Should you feel dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was handled, information on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent FOI Appeals Procedure can be found on our website: http://www.gwent.pcc.police.uk/en/transparency/know-your-rights/your-information-rights/freedom-of-information/appeals-process/
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Commissioner is an independent regulator whose details can be found using the following link: Home | ICO
You can also write to the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF