ICO takes action against force for ‘risking public trust’ with FoI failings
Devon and Cornwall Police has been issued with an enforcement notice by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for “risking public trust” by failing to meet basic information request requirements under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000.
The ICO took action against the force after investigations found “ongoing FoI failings”, which had seen hundreds of information requests go without a response.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust was also issued with an enforcement notice following complaints about its late compliance with FoI requests, with a backlog of 785 as of last month.
Phillip Angell, head of FoI Complaints and Appeals at the ICO, said: “Everyone should have the ability to access public information. When this information is not received or is significantly delayed, it undermines people’s fundamental rights. This lack of transparency can also create unwanted barriers, risking public trust in the organisations we turn to at our most vulnerable.
“The public put trust in the NHS and police when it comes to health and safety, so why, when those same organisations are asked to supply information, are they not met with the same trust?
“There are very clear legal requirements when it comes to FoI requests and therefore these failures have unfortunately resulted in regulatory action.
“These authorities must do better to clear their large FoI backlogs and put procedures in place to guarantee the timely response to all FoIs in the future and ensure that the public right to information is upheld.”
He said in 2023, as part of its routine work to monitor public authorities’ compliance with the legislation, the Information Commissioner found Devon and Cornwall Police to be “performing poorly” in terms of its obligation to provide responses to information requests.
It was revealed that between 2022 and 2024 the percentage of requests responded to within the statutory FoI timeframe of 20 working days was consistently low (between 39 per cent and 65 per cent). The force’s rate of response to internal review requests was also poor, averaging between 0 per cent and 22 per cent.
The force had a backlog of older FoI requests which had increased from 77 in December 2023 to 251 in June 2024.
“Our 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 ICO said.
“The force has been given six months to clear the existing backlog.”