There are a number of tools available to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for taking action to help organisations follow the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations, INSPIRE Regulations and associated codes of practice. They include non-criminal enforcement and assessments of good practice.
Specifically, where authorities repeatedly or seriously fail to meet the requirements of the legislation, or conform to the associated codes of practice, the ICO can take the following action:
- conduct assessments to check organisations are complying with the Act;
- serve information notices requiring organisations to provide the ICO with specified information within a certain time period;
- issue undertakings committing an authority to a particular course of action to improve its compliance;
- serve enforcement notices where there has been a breach of the Act, requiring organisations to take (or refrain from taking) specified steps in order to ensure they comply with the law;
- issue practice recommendations specifying steps the public authority should take to ensure conformity to the codes;
- issue decision notices detailing the outcome of the ICO’s investigation to publically highlight particular issues with an authority’s handling of a specific request;
- prosecute those who commit criminal offences under the Act; and
- report to Parliament on freedom of information issues of concern.
Appeals from notices are heard by the First–tier Tribunal (Information Rights), part of the General Regulatory Chamber (GRC). The First–tier Tribunal (Information Rights) specifically hears appeals of enforcement notices, decision notices and information notices issued by the Information Commissioner. The GRC brings together a range of previously separate tribunals that hear appeals on regulatory issues.
View the freedom of information regulatory action policy
Undertakings
The culmination of negotiated resolution, an undertaking commits an authority to a particular course of action in order to improve its compliance.
March 2012
Formal undertakings have been signed by the Welsh Government, Kent County Council, Cornwall Council, East Lancashire NHS Trust, Nottingham City Council and North Somerset Council, committing them to making improvements to the way in which they deal with requests for information.
View the the Welsh Government undertaking
View the Kent County Council undertaking
View the Cornwall Council undertaking
View the East Lancashire NHS Trust undertaking
View the Nottingham City Council undertaking
View the North Somerset Council undertaking
June 2011
Formal undertakings have been signed by the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Defence, Birmingham City Council and Wolverhampton City Council, committing them to making improvements to the way in which they deal with requests for information.
View the Cabinet Office undertaking
View the Ministry of Defence undertaking
View the Birmingham City Council undertaking
View the Wolverhampton City Council undertaking
April 2011
Formal undertakings have been signed by three London authorities, committing them to making improvements to the way in which they deal with requests for information. The authorities are Westminster City Council, London Borough of Islington, and London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
View the Westminster City Council undertaking (21 April 2011)
View the London Borough of Islington undertaking (31 March 2011)
View the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham undertaking (19 April 2011)
12 May 2011
A formal undertaking has been signed by the Governing Body of Aberdare Girls’ School, which commits the authority to improve its awareness of the Act and to cooperate with the Commissioner’s investigations.
View the Aberdare Girls’ School undertaking
22 December 2010
A formal undertaking has been signed by the University of East Anglia, which commits the authority to making improvements to staff training and information management.
View the University of East Anglia undertaking
Enforcement notices
An enforcement notice is a legal order the Information Commissioner can make to require a public authority to address its failure to comply with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information Act. In practice, this is most likely to be used where there is systemic or repeated non-compliance.
The notice will explain what the public authority has failed to do and set out the Commissioner's reasons for reaching that conclusion. The notice will specify what steps the public authority needs to take in order to comply with the Act and a timescale for doing so.
Failure to comply with an enforcement notice may result in the Commissioner referring the matter to the High Court. The High Court can deal with the public authority as if it had committed contempt of court. A public authority may appeal against an enforcement notice to the First-tier Tribunal (Information Rights).
11 June 2010
The Information Commissioner has issued an enforcement notice to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in order to address a number of failures to respond to requests for information within the timescale specified by section 10 of the Act. In addition, the IPCC is required to respond to any overdue requests contained in its backlog by the 30 September 2010.
Independent Police Complaints Commission enforcement notice
Practice recommendations
Where the Commissioner considers that the practice of a public authority does not conform with that proposed in the codes of practice he may give that authority a practice recommendation.
A practice recommendation will specify the steps the Commissioner considers should be taken to bring about the conformity. It will be in writing and will refer to the particular provisions of the code of practice with which the Commissioner considers the public authority's practice does not conform.
There are currently no practice recommendations available on the website.