I have sent in FOI requests to the borough solicitor and guess what....I have already been passed to three departments and still my questions have not been answered. 
A valid request under Section. 8 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) states that a request for information under the Act must:
Be in writing for (this must be legible and can include email)State the name of the applicant and the address for correspondenceDescribe the information requestedAny response must be made within 20 working days. If after being able to prove you have contacted the authority more than once unsuccessfully, you can request them to intervene:
Your ultimate recourse to any perceived avoidance is 'The Information Commissioners Office'. They may suggest your claim falls outside their remit?
This disparity arises, sometimes, because the instruction from the Information Commissioner’s Office and the revised
S. 45 Code of Practice they issue, both suggest that there are some circumstances where, despite the validity of a request, it may be better dealt with
'outside of the Act.'The Code of Practice advises that, “information given out as part of routine business, for example, standard responses to general enquiries” does not need to be dealt with under the Act.
The ICO Guide states that, “It will often be effective and provide better customer service to deal with it the subject as a "
normal customer enquiry under your usual customer service procedures”.'So also write and ask will they give a clear answer i.e
"what gross funds were received in payment for the sale of no 146 Werneth Hall Road",
without referring to the act and keep copies for later reference as proof to your MP. If you get no response after 20 working days. You can download a form to register your complaint of non compliance at;
https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/official-information-concerns-report/official-information-concern/That said expect to have to persist with the ICO. They are
experts in prevarication and churning. However they do respond when your local MP gets involved. They (LA) may also try to deflect your request as you imply in your post, especially if you don't reside in their area. It's a standard approach along with latterly of course the omnipresent Coronavirus distraction. Expect all Local Authorities to be pro-active in resistance to providing any information - its in their DNA.
They also rely on inertia from older questioners eventually 'burying' their need to respond. Persistence and invoking a probably equally disinterested and indolent MP
(or their little helpers) does eventually pay off. Unfortunately its the world we now live in.
