Watchdog puts four councils on monitoring list over FOI response delays

Four councils have become the latest public bodies to be monitored by the Information Commissioner’s Office for delays in response times to freedom of information requests.

Two London boroughs – Lambeth and Tower Hamlets – have been placed on the monitoring list along with Warwick District Council and Wigan Council. The ICO will assess the timeliness of their FOI responses between 1 September and 30 November 2014.

The ICO said each authority had been the subject of a significant number of complaints.

Graham Smith, ICO Deputy Commissioner, said: “The four councils we have named today should see their inclusion on the latest monitoring list as a clear signal that they need to improve their practices.

“Responding to FOI requests within the permitted timeframe is one of the cornerstones of ensuring transparent local governance. We will be happy to work with the councils in their efforts to turn their performances around.”

The ICO meanwhile praised the performance of the BBC and Essex Police, which both had previously been subject to monitoring. The two organisations are now responding to more than 95% of FOI requests within the statutory 20-day deadline.

However, the watchdog said it was still considering the performance of Greenwich Council, which was monitored over the same period by the ICO. Greenwich is due to submit details of its response times for July later this month.

Smith said: “We are pleased that the BBC and Essex Police have risen to the challenge after being placed on our FOI monitoring list. The monitoring exercise should be seen as a wake-up call to authorities to address the problems they are having.

“Both of these organisations should be proud of the changes they have made to make sure requests are responded to in a timely fashion and we expect these improvements to continue.”

The ICO also revealed that the Cabinet Office, the Crown Prosecution Service and Hackney Council – all three of whom were monitored between 1 January to 31 March 2014 – had now come off formal monitoring.

But the watchdog plans additional meetings with the Metropolitan Police before deciding whether further action is required. “Despite numerous internal changes aimed at improving their performance, the authority is still failing to respond to over 85 % of requests in time,” the ICO said.