ICO takes regulatory action against four public authorities over handling of FOI requests
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued an enforcement notice against the City of London Police for Freedom of Information (FOI) failings and made practice recommendations for Staffordshire Police, Dorset Police and Goldsmiths, University of London.
The information watchdog issued its enforcement notice for the City of London Police after it found the force's average compliance rate in the financial year 2023/24 was 68%, which it considered to be low.
It also found a large, rising backlog of older requests the police force had yet to respond to.
The force told the ICO that the issues had been caused by staffing challenges and an increase in the number and complexity of FOI requests.
The enforcement notice orders the force to devise and publish an action plan in the next 30 days, which must detail how they will comply with their duties to respond to information requests in a timely manner.
The force has also been given six months to clear the existing backlog.
A City of London Police spokesperson said the force accepted the ICO's notice, adding that it is "doubling" its efforts to manage the volume of FOI requests it receives, "as well as increasing our resource to ensure we return to meeting our FOIA and EIR obligations as quickly as possible".
Staffordshire Police, meanwhile, was handed a practice recommendation after an increase in complaints the ICO had received about the police force.
The ICO said the most concerning issue at the police force was a backlog of aged requests which remain open, with no action plan in place to resolve the issue.
It issued its practice recommendation to support the police force in improving its information rights practices.
A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said the force recognised the importance of freedom of information requests and its responsiveness in dealing with them.
They added: “We have openly engaged with the Information Commissioner’s Office about the issues we have faced and are working with them to implement proactive measures to resolve the backlog and compliance statistics.”
At Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police, which have a shared FOI service, the ICO found various concerns over FOI compliance performance.
"There are concerns both about performance in terms of the time limit for complying with information requests and the time it takes to complete internal reviews," the ICO said.
Its practice recommendation for the police force was issued to ensure there is transparency about the action being taken by drawing wider attention to the issue.
Mike Stamp, Director of Legal, Reputation and Risk, Dorset Police, said the police force is "committed to working in partnership with the ICO to make further improvements".
Stamp said the police force saw the highest demand for FOI requests on record last year after the number of requests increased by 14%.
He added: “In July, we developed a plan to improve our position, including ensuring internal enquiries made by the FOI team are prioritised internally by officers and staff and identifying requests that are no longer required.”
According to Stamp, the force's backlog has now reduced by 75%, with 52 outstanding requests in December (down from 205 in July 2023).
The final practice recommendation was issued for Goldsmiths, University of London after the ICO found a backlog of FOI requests.
The university wrote to the ICO in August 2024 to flag that it could not meet its obligations to provide timely FOI responses.
It has seen an increase in requests, with many of those being more complex than usual, causing its backlog to build up, the ICO said.
"We have issued Goldsmiths with a practice recommendation to support the college's plans to stabilise and improve its information rights practices", the watchdog added.
A spokesperson for Goldsmiths, University of London said: "We contacted the ICO and welcome the support and advice they provided, and are working to meet our commitments.”
Commenting on the practice recommendations and enforcement notices, the ICO's head of FOI complaints and appeals, Phillip Angell, said: "People have the legal right to promptly receive information they're entitled to. This right is important as transparency and accountability are fundamental to our democracy.
"As the regulator of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), we support public authorities to be transparent and accountable about the decisions they make and the public money they spend. Where authorities let people down by failure to comply with the law on responding to information requests, we can and will take regulatory action so people's rights are upheld."
Staffordshire Police and Goldsmiths have been approached for comment.
Adam Carey
