ICO Upholds FOI Complaint Against NHS Trust

ICO Decision Notices

Filed March 20th, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has upheld a Freedom of Information (FOI) complaint against Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust failed to respond to a request within the statutory 20 working days. The ICO has ordered the Trust to respond within 30 calendar days.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice upholding a Freedom of Information (FOI) complaint against Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. The Trust breached Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by failing to provide a response to an FOI request within the mandated 20 working days. The decision notice requires the Trust to issue a response to the complainant within 30 calendar days from the date of the notice.

This decision serves as a reminder to public authorities of their statutory obligations under FOIA. Compliance officers within NHS Trusts and other public bodies should ensure that robust processes are in place to track and respond to FOI requests within statutory deadlines. Failure to do so can result in ICO intervention and enforcement action, requiring specific remedial actions within defined timelines.

What to do next

Respond to the FOI request within 30 calendar days.

Source document (simplified)

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Date 20 March 2026
Sector Health
Decision(s) FOI 10(1): Upheld A public authority will breach section 10 of FOIA if it fails to respond to a request within 20 working days. Based on evidence available to the Commissioner, by the date of this notice, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has not issued a response to the request. The Commissioner requires it to provide the complainant with a response to this request within 30 calendar days in accordance with its obligations under FOIA.