I work for a university and have had a request from the landlord of a former student to confirm to the County Council that the student studied with us so that the landlord can claim back council tax from that time. He claims that other universities have provided this information in the past.

We no longer have current contact details for the former student, nor does tha landlord.

Are we able to disclose this information to the County Council?

Firstly, apologies Michelle that it has taken a week to respond to your question – a busy time not helped by the snow!

In my view the questions you need to ask yourself are whether the student gave consent for you to use his or her details in this way and secondly, whether he/she would want you to reveal this information? Presumably as well as not having their current address I assume you don’t have the original application form/paperwork from the student detailing the necessary consents? If you’re still unsure, as this is a grey area, I recommend that you direct your question to the Information Commissioners Office’s helpline service on 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45. They do ask people to use the ICO Online Enquiry Form to help with the process. The ICO help service is open up until lunch time Christmas Eve and then reopens in the New Year.

I hope this helps and have a great Christmas.