The Information Commissioner has issued a decision notice requiring Leeds City Council to release residents' responses to a public consultation questionnaire which were held on the Council's behalf by a market research company. The Commissioner rejected the Council's argument that it did not hold copies of the completed questionnaires as it had only commissioned the company to produce a final report based on the survey's results: for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (section 3(2)(b)), information is held by a public authority if it is held by another person or organisation on behalf of the authority. However, the Commissioner concluded that the names and addresses of the respondents should not be disclosed.

Source: ICO press release, 9 May 2007; ICO decision notice, 10 April 2007.