This action was prompted by a letter from the IPCC which stated that it was experiencing difficulties in responding to requests for information under section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the “Act”). The IPCC confirmed to the Commissioner that it had a backlog of 72 requests, 69 of which were ‘out of time’. In addition to this backlog, the Commissioner was aware that he had received nine complaints under section 50 of the Act which identified a failure to respond to requests for information within the statutory time limits, four of which remained outstanding at the time of drafting this notice.This is only the second time the Commissioner has issued an enforcement notice under s.52 of the FOI Act. The first was in relation to multiple complaints about the non-disclosure of the Attorney General's advice on the legality of military intervention in Iraq. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice could result in the Commissioner referring the matter to the High Court where it can be dealt with as contempt of court.
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The IPCC has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for information within the statutory time limits. Further the Commissioner is concerned that the timescale proposed by the IPCC for the elimination of its backlog of overdue requests may not be met, unless the authority is compelled to take such action by way of an Enforcement Notice.
A copy of the enforcement notice is here. The ICO's Enforcement Strategy is here.
1 comment:
The service provided by the www.whatdotheyknow.com web site should not be underestimated; it has contributed significantly by enabling individuals to monitor requests and assist the submission of complaints to the ICO. Indeed, I question whether, in the absence of concerted approach the ICO would have taken enforcement action. Only the day before the enforcement notice (15th June 2010) I received a dismissive response from the ICO’s office ….
“Although a clear breach of the Act did occur, I am satisfied that the authority has recognised this, apologised for the delay and responded to the request. In this particular case, therefore, the Commissioner does not consider that serving a formal decision notice would serve any strong public interest.”
See: www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/police_confidential_reporting_li_3#comment-11329
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