The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has determined that Dordon Parish Council failed to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by not responding to a request within the prescribed 20 working days. This decision notice mandates that the council must now provide a substantive response to the complainant within 30 calendar days.

Compliance officers at local government bodies should ensure that FOI request handling procedures are robust and that all requests are acknowledged and responded to within statutory deadlines. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action by the ICO, requiring immediate remedial action and potentially leading to further scrutiny. The key action required is to process and respond to the outstanding FOI request by the new 30-day deadline.