Camden Council wins appeal in "squatters' roadmap" FOI case

Camden Council has won an appeal at the Upper Tribunal in the so-called "squatters' roadmap" case that centres on a freedom of information request for disclosure of a list of empty properties in the borough.

The case will now be remitted to a differently-constituted First-tier Tribunal (FTT), where the public interest arguments will be reheard.

Camden was ordered by the FTT in September 2011 to publish the list after a freedom of information request by an adviser to squatters.

The FTT accepted that the prevention of crime exemption was engaged but concluded that it was in the public interest that the information be disclosed.

In the Tribunal’s view, factors in favour of disclosure included providing greater colour to the debate over empty homes and incentivising owners to re-use their properties.

The ruling prompted an angry response from Housing Minister Grant Shapps, who described it as “bizarre” and said it potentially left local authorities and property owners as “hostages to fortune”.

Supported by the Information Commissioner, Camden Council appealed to the Upper Tribunal.

In London Borough of Camden v The Information Commissioner & Voyias [2012] UKUT 190 (AAC), Judge Jacobs found that the FTT had failed to take into account the realistically possible consequences of crime as relevant to the public interest balancing test.

The judge also said that the FTT had failed to properly take into account the significance of other forms of accountability, and had misused the ‘slip rule’ when purporting to correct its judgment to remove errors of law pointed out by Camden.

The case will now be heard by a differently constituted First-tier Tribunal.

11KBW barristers Ben Hooper and Christopher Knight appeared for Camden and the Information Commissioner in the appeal. Edward Capewell, also of 11KBW, drafted the written submissions of the Commissioner.

See also: All mapped out? Anya Proops on the Upper Tribunal’s ruling.