BBC monitored over response times: third of all broadcaster’s FOI complaints relate to timeliness
7 May 2014 02:38 PM
The Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced that the BBC, Essex
Police and Greenwich Council are being monitored over the timeliness of their
responses to freedom of information (FOI)
requests
The BBC is being monitored after
the ICO responded to 84 complaints about their handling of FOI requests between
1 July and 30 December 2013. Almost one in three (32%) of these complaints
related to concerns over the broadcaster’s response times, with no
response being provided either within the statutory time limit of 20 working
days, or after 40 working days where the law allows a public authority to
extend the deadline.
Essex Police and Greenwich
Council are also being monitored after the authorities were the subject of a
significant number of complaints to the ICO over delays in their response
times.
The ICO will now examine the
timeliness of the three organisations’ responses to FOI requests received
between 1 May and 31 July 2014. Failure to show signs of improvement during
this period may result in enforcement action.
Announcing the publication of
today’s monitoring list, the ICO’s Deputy Commissioner and Director
of Freedom of Information, Graham Smith, said:
“While we recognise that
high profile events at the BBC have resulted in a rise in the number of FOI
requests received, it has become clear that the organisation is consistently
failing to meet its legal requirements to respond to FOI requests in a timely
manner.
“We expect the BBC, along
with Essex Police and Greenwich Council, to use the monitoring period to tackle
these delays and get their house in
order.”
Results of monitoring period 1
January to 31 March 2014
The ICO is currently reviewing the performance of the Cabinet Office,
Crown Prosecution Service and Hackney Council, who were monitored during the
first three months of this year following previous delays in their FOI
responses.
Continued monitoring of
Metropolitan Police and Home Office
The ICO remains concerned about
the performance of the Metropolitan Police Service. The force, again, failed to
make satisfactory improvements to its performance during the extended
monitoring period that occurred between 1 July and 30 September
2013.
The force has provided details
of changes it plans to introduce to improve its performance and the ICO is
currently considering whether these proposals are sufficient, or whether
further action is required. In the meantime, the ICO will continue to monitor
the timeliness of the force’s responses to FOI requests until a final
decision has been reached.
Following an extended period of
monitoring the Home Office has made significant improvements to the timeliness
of its responses. In January, the authority responded to 85% of FOI requests
received within the statutory time limit and over 87% within the time limit in
February 2014. As a result of these improvements the ICO has closed its formal
monitoring of the authority.
Further information about the ICO’s FOI monitoring
exercise
Notes to
Editors
1. The Information
Commissioner’s Office upholds information rights in the public interest,
promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
2. The ICO has specific responsibilities set out in the Data Protection
Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. In
Scotland, freedom of information is a devolved matter and Scottish public
authorities are subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 which
is regulated by the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner in St
Andrews.
3. The ICO is on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Keep up to date
on the ICO blog and e-newsletter. Our Press
Office page provides more information for
journalists.
4. The Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) provides individuals or organisations with the right to request
official information held by a public authority. The Environmental Information
Regulations (EIR) provide access to environmental information. The ICO’s
policy on enforcing public access to official information and the powers at its
disposal are set out in its Freedom of information
regulatory action policy.