ICO Orders Hartlepool Council To Release School Admissions Fraud Figures..

Hartlepool Civic Centre

ICO Ruling Finds Hartlepool Council Was Wrong To Withhold School Place Fraud Data...

19th May 2026

Hartlepool Borough Council has been ordered by the Information Commissioner’s Office to release information about reports of alleged attempts to obtain school places through fraudulent means or potentially face a Contempt of Court Ruling, the Teesside & Durham Post Understands...

The decision notice, issued on the 22nd of April 2026, relates to a Freedom of Information request by a member of the public asking the council for figures on reports, investigations and outcomes involving alleged school admissions fraud, including cases where false addresses may have been used to secure a place.

The member of the public had asked for the information to be broken down between primary and secondary schools and by school year over a five-year period, covering 2020/21 to 2024/25. The request also asked whether private investigators had been used, how much they cost, and whether offers or places had been withdrawn as a result of fraudulent activity.

Its claimed Hartlepool Borough Council responded to the request in April 2025 by providing some information, but withheld parts of the response where the numbers were under five. Hartlepool Borough Council argued that the remaining figures should not be disclosed because they amounted to third-party personal data under section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act. However, the Information Commissioner disagreed.

In the decision notice, the Commissioner found that the council was not entitled to rely on section 40(2) to withhold the requested information. The ICO ruled that the figures should be disclosed.

The council had argued that even small numbers could potentially allow people within school communities to work out which families were involved, particularly where local knowledge, school type and admission disputes were taken into account. It also said allegations of school place fraud were sensitive because they could involve children and family circumstances.

But the Commissioner said the withheld information was only the number of instances by year and by whether they related to primary or secondary schools. The ICO concluded that the council had not shown how releasing figures of fewer than five would identify individuals, with the decision notice stating that the withheld information was not personal data in this case, meaning the council could not use the personal data exemption to refuse disclosure.

The ICO has now ordered Hartlepool Borough Council to disclose the requested information within 30 calendar days of the decision notice, where a failure to comply could result in the matter being certified to the High Court and potentially dealt with as contempt of court.