N Quinn v The Information Commissioner & Anor

N Quinn v The Information Commissioner & Anor

The Council was not entitled to withhold the entirety of the Max Associates Report and PDG Report under s43(2) FOIA, as much of the information would not, or would only to a low degree, prejudice its commercial interests, and the public interest in transparency and accountability outweighed the exemption. The Council also failed to comply with its duty to provide information about the publication of the 2024 Leisure Charges. The Decision Notice was not in accordance with the law to the extent stated.

Parties
Appellant: N Quinn; First Respondent: The Information Commissioner; Second Respondent: Mid-Devon District Council
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
01 May 2026
Procedural Posture
FOIA Appeal / First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) Final Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part
Legal Topics
Freedom of Information, Commercial Interests Exemption, Public Interest Test, Transparency in Public Authorities, Disclosure of Public Authority Reports
Administrative Law Information Law Local Government Law Freedom of Information Commercial Interests Exemption Public Interest Test Transparency in Public Authorities Disclosure of Public Authority Reports

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 9 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 3
Sign in to unlock

Parties

N Quinn

Appellant

The Information Commissioner

First Respondent

Mid-Devon District Council

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

FOIA Appeal / First Tier Tribunal (general Regulatory Chamber) Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Council was entitled to withhold the Max Associates Report and PDG Report under s43(2) FOIA (commercial interests)
  2. 2 Whether the Council complied with its duty to provide information about the publication of 2024 Leisure Charges
  3. 3 Whether the public interest in disclosure outweighed the commercial interests exemption

Ratio Decidendi

The Council was not entitled to withhold the entirety of the Max Associates Report and PDG Report under s43(2) FOIA, as much of the information would not, or would only to a low degree, prejudice its commercial interests, and the public interest in transparency and accountability outweighed the exemption. The Council also failed to comply with its duty to provide information about the publication of the 2024 Leisure Charges. The Decision Notice was not in accordance with the law to the extent stated.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part

Orders

  • Mid-Devon District Council must send to the Appellant the entirety of the PDG Report except for the names and emails of Council employees at the end of the penultimate page.
  • Mid-Devon District Council must send to the Appellant the entirety of the Max Associates Report except for information listed in the Tribunal’s CLOSED decision.