ICO takes regulatory action against two forces for failings under the FoI Act
Sussex Police and South Yorkshire Police have both been issued with enforcement notices by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for their “continued failings” to meet their obligations under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, with the latter’s request response rate being classed as “unacceptable on any level”.
It comes as the Information Commissioner, John Edwards, has written an open letter to public organisations to remind them that transparency is essential and resources must be dedicated to access to information.
“Transparency is fundamental to our democracy. Information delayed is information denied, and people have the legal right to promptly receive information they’re entitled to,” said Warren Seddon, ICO Director of Freedom of Information and Transparency.
“Sussex Police and South Yorkshire Police have let people down with their woeful failure to comply with the law on responding to information requests.
“The Commissioner has been clear that public sector leaders should take transparency seriously. Where organisations fail to do this we will take enforcement action so people’s information rights are upheld.”
The ICO said Sussex Police and South Yorkshire Police both had “large backlogs” in dealing with FoI requests: 753 for Sussex Police (including 389 more than six months old) and 390 for South Yorkshire.
Sussex Police had a compliance rate of just 32 per cent for the most recent quarter. South Yorkshire Police’s compliance rate was under 18 per cent for most of last year, which the enforcement notice describes as “unacceptable on any level.”
The enforcement notices order the forces to clear their backlogs by August 31, 2024, at the latest.
The Department of Education, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Financial Ombudsman Service have also been given practice recommendations setting out improvements they can make to better comply with their legal obligations.