Here’s a strange one from across the water. Southampton City Council has been ordered to reconsider a request asking whether tenants have complained about ghosts, hauntings, monsters, aliens or demons in their homes.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ruled Southampton City Council was wrong to reject the Freedom of Information request as “vexatious”.
The request asked how many council tenants between 2020 and 2024 had complained or sought rehousing because of paranormal activity.
It also sought anonymised details of any cases and information about how the council handled such reports.
Council rejected request as vexatious
Council officers rejected the request, arguing it was trivial, had insufficient public value and would require a disproportionate amount of work.
Estimated 138 hours of work
The council’s records did not have a specific category for paranormal incidents, meaning officers said they could potentially have to manually examine 16,633 notes to establish whether relevant information was held.
The authority estimated reviewing the notes would take around 138 hours, compared with an 18-hour cost limit that can be used to refuse FOI requests.
However, the council instead rejected the request as vexatious, and the ICO found it had not provided enough evidence to show that 138 hours of work would be required.
ICO finds request had some value
The ICO’s decision notice said,
“The commissioner accepts that the subject matter of the request is unusual.
“However, a request is not vexatious merely because it concerns unusual, speculative or apparently limited-value information.”
The watchdog found the request had some value because it could provide an insight into whether unusual reports were received and how they were handled.
Council must issue fresh response
It has ordered the council to issue a fresh response without relying on the same “vexatious” exemption within 30 calendar days of the 29th September 2026 decision.
The ruling does not establish whether any Southampton council tenants have actually reported supernatural disturbances.
A Southampton City Council spokeswoman said,
“The council is aware of the Information Commission’s decision in this matter and always welcomes their guidance and assistance on these matters.
“The council has taken their decision into account in issuing a revised response to the requestor in that case.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
