FOI request on residents' survey - what details can I request?

Question

Hello again

Following a Parish Council decision that not everyone was happy with, they ran a residents' survey to see who agreed with the PC's action and who didn't.  I was slightly surprised at the outcome of the response, and I did a FOI request to see the actual responses.  Some of the responses seem quite oddly weighted, and I wondered if I was entitled to ask which street each respondent lived in.  Clearly I can't ask for individual names or addresses, but I'd be interested to know where people were coming from, as the PC's decision/action affected a certain street a lot more than others.  It's an especially hot topic because the PC made their original decision with no consultation with residents.

Hope this makes sense!  I am not a natural complainer, but a lot of people in my street are very upset, and I have taken on the role of investigator ....

Thank you for any guidance!

Answer 1

The PC would have to balance the rights and freedoms of the data subjects (residents) with the legitimate interests in disclosure and as a result, they would probably rely on the exemption found at section 40(2) of the FOIA, since the nature of the information you have already received and now intend to request (information concerning the streets) could potentially identify the data subjects.

Comments

Thank you Samuel, that's very helpful.