FOI Request
Please provide me with all email correspondence between CE Simon Dennis and PCC Barry Coppinger between April 1 2020 and this date*.
(The request was received by the OPCC on 28 July 2020)
As seeking this information would go beyond the time limit for FOI, the requester refined this request to:
All email correspondence between CE Simon Dennis and PCC Barry Coppinger between July 1 2020 to July 10 2020.
OPCC Response
Attached to the email accompanying this letter is a document bundle containing 44 items of email correspondence which fall within the scope of your request. For ease of access, I have created a document index which provides the name, date and number of the document – plus information about any redactions applied.
FOI 262 – Document bundle (application, 3MB)
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner neither confirms nor denies whether additional material is or may be held. More explanation of this follows later in this letter.
The following exemptions have been relied upon and applied in respect of your request:
Section 40(2) Personal Information
This exemption relates to correspondence which includes personal information of which the applicant is not the data subject. This exemption is used when publication of information containing such personal data would contravene the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). S40(2) is an absolute exemption, which means a public interest test is not required.
Section 30(1)(b) Investigations and Proceedings Conducted by Public Authorities.
This exemptionapplies to a specific category of information that a public authority currently holds or has ever held for the purposes of criminal investigations, or other types of investigations where the sources are confidential. This is a qualified class-based exemption and a public interest test is required.
Considerations for confirming or denying whether information is held under S30
In favour
To confirm the requested information, if held, would provide the public with additional information about PCC and OPCC roles and responsibilities for policing and crime in the Cleveland area.
Against
The disclosure of information, if held, could prejudice any ongoing or potential future investigations or proceedings, which would not be in the public interest of Cleveland Police, the OPCC or the public at this time.
Balancing test
I have considered the competing public interest arguments and it is my opinion and decision that having undertaken the balancing test for confirming or denying whether any additional information is held, the appropriate course is neither to confirm nor deny.
In relation to ongoing and potential future investigations and proceedings (such as those conducted by Cleveland Police) there is significant public interest in ensuring the integrity of such investigations, in the interest of justice and appropriate conduct procedures.