Peter William Styles v Information Commissioner & Anor

Peter William Styles v Information Commissioner & Anor

Disclosure of abstraction licence numbers does not of itself pose a risk to national security or public safety; any potential risk arises only if further requests are made to the Environment Agency, which is responsible for assessing such risks under EIR. AWL was not entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(a) to withhold the requested information.

Parties
Appellant: Peter William Styles; First Respondent: Information Commissioner; Second Respondent: Affinity Water Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
10 January 2025
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Final Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Environmental Information Regulations, Public Authority Disclosure, National Security Exception, Public Interest Test
Environmental Law Information Rights Administrative Law Environmental Information Regulations Public Authority Disclosure National Security Exception Public Interest Test

Case Brief

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Parties

Peter William Styles

Appellant

Information Commissioner

First Respondent

Affinity Water Limited

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Final Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether disclosure of abstraction licence numbers would adversely affect national security or public safety under regulation 12(5)(a) EIR
  2. 2 Whether the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosure
  3. 3 Whether the presumption in favour of disclosure under regulation 12(2) EIR applies

Ratio Decidendi

Disclosure of abstraction licence numbers does not of itself pose a risk to national security or public safety; any potential risk arises only if further requests are made to the Environment Agency, which is responsible for assessing such risks under EIR. AWL was not entitled to rely on regulation 12(5)(a) to withhold the requested information.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Affinity Water Limited must provide the appellant with a list of boreholes abstracting water from a chalk aquifer, including Environment Agency abstraction licence numbers and the name of the nearest village or town, within 35 days.
  • Affinity Water Limited must supply a copy of this Decision to the Environment Agency.