Electoral Commission FOI Breach Decision

ICO Decision Notices

Filed March 18th, 2026

Detected March 25th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued a decision notice finding the Electoral Commission breached Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by failing to respond to a request within the statutory 20-day period. The Electoral Commission is required to provide a substantive response to the complainant.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice (IC-474880-F6W5) against the Electoral Commission. The notice upholds a complaint that the Electoral Commission breached Section 10(1) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by failing to provide a substantive response to a request within the mandated 20 working days. This decision confirms a failure in the public authority's administrative process for handling information requests.

The Electoral Commission is now legally obligated to provide a full response to the original information request in compliance with FOIA. Compliance officers within public authorities should review their internal processes for handling FOI requests to ensure adherence to statutory timelines and avoid similar breaches. Failure to comply with ICO decision notices can lead to further regulatory action.

What to do next

Provide a substantive response to the original FOI request.
Review internal FOI request handling procedures to ensure compliance with statutory timelines.

Source document (simplified)

The Electoral Commission

Date 18 March 2026
Sector Central government, Regulators
Decision(s) FOI 10(1): Upheld The complainant requested information from Electoral Commission. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public authority failed to respond to the request within 20 working days and has therefore breached section 10 of FOIA. The public authority must provide a substantive response to the request in accordance with its obligations under FOIA.