ICO publishes list of public sector bodies being monitored for poor FOI compliance
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a list of 33 public sector bodes, including 18 local authorities, which it says are being monitored for failing to respond to freedom of information requests on time.
The ICO said that it would monitor the named authorities for three months, but it also said that it reserved the right to take enforcement action sooner where compliance was “particularly poor” or where public bodies were unwilling to make improvements.
The composition of the list, which also includes Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office, is based on the number of complaints received by the ICO, published data showing where less than 85% of requests had received a response within appropriate timescales and the number of occasions where authorities had exceeded time limits by a significant margin.
The 18 local authorities named by the ICO are:
- Babergh District Council
- Birmingham City Council
- Bromsgrove District Council
- Calderdale Council
- Gravesham Borough Council
- Great Yarmouth Borough Council
- Lancashire County Council
- London Borough of Barnet
- London Borough of Croydon
- London Borough of Ealing
- London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
- London Borough of Islington
- London Borough of Newham
- Medway Council
- Surrey Heath Borough Council
- Westminster City Council
- Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
- Wolverhampton City Council
The ICO’s Deputy Commissioner, Graham Smith said: “In the five years since the Freedom of Information Act was brought into force, a significant number of the complaints we receive are about organisations that take too long to respond to information requests. This is a perfect opportunity for the authorities named to get their houses in order and demonstrate that they take freedom of information requests seriously.”
