ICO Decision On Public Lands & Buildings Dept

Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued her first decision for 2021 which was in regards to the Department of Public Lands and Buildings.

A spokesperson said, “Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued her first decision for 2021 on 25 January 2021: Decision 01/2021, Department of Public Lands and Buildings [Department]. The requester made a request under the Public Access to Information [PATI] Act 2010 for a copy of the Tudor Farm lease and tender records.

“After the Department did not issue an initial decision, the requester asked for an internal review of their PATI request. When the PATI requester did not receive an internal review decision from the Department, the requester sought an independent review by the Information Commissioner.

“In Decision 01/2021 the Information Commissioner found the Department failed to issue an internal review decision within the statutory timeframes of the PATI Act. The Department also did not issue its decision to the Applicant during the Information Commissioner’s review. The Information Commissioner ordered the Department to conduct an internal review and issue its internal review decision within four weeks of Decision 01/2021.

“Decision 01/2021 reminds public authorities of their obligation to conduct an internal review and issue a decision within six weeks of the public authority receiving an internal review request, which is not extendable under the PATI Act.

“As Bermuda nears its sixth year of PATI rights available to Bermudians and residents of Bermuda, Decision 01/2021 is the Information Commissioner’s 27th failure-to-decide investigation. This represents over one-third of the Information Commissioner’s 77 published decisions, as of 31 January 2021.”

The full version of Decision 01/2021 follows below [PDF here]:

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