ICO Decision: Khalsa Academies Trust breached FOIA

ICO Decision Notices

Filed March 11th, 2026

Detected March 17th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice finding that Khalsa Academies Trust breached the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by failing to respond to a request within the statutory 20-working-day limit and by issuing an invalid refusal. The Trust is required to comply with FOIA.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice (Case Ref: IC-467817-V9N9) finding Khalsa Academies Trust in breach of sections 1, 10, and 17 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Trust failed to respond to a complainant's information request within the 20-working-day limit and subsequently provided an invalid refusal, citing non-existent exemptions. The ICO has apologised for a delay in progressing the case due to staff changes.

Khalsa Academies Trust, as a public authority, is now required to issue a valid and substantive response to the original information request in accordance with FOIA. Failure to comply with FOIA requirements can lead to further enforcement action by the ICO. This decision underscores the importance of adhering to statutory timelines and proper procedures when handling information requests.

What to do next

Review internal processes for handling Freedom of Information requests to ensure compliance with statutory timelines and exemption requirements.
Ensure all refusal notices cite valid exemptions under FOIA and are substantively accurate.
Respond to outstanding information requests within the prescribed 20-working-day period.

Source document (simplified)

Khalsa Academies Trust Limited

Date 11 March 2026
Sector Education
Decision(s) FOI 1: Upheld, FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 17: Upheld
Commissioner’s Decision: A public authority will breach section 10 of FOIA if it fails to respond to a request within 20 working days. The Trust responded to the complainant’s request on 1 August 2022, refusing to provide information on the grounds that the request was ‘manifestly unfounded and excessive.’ It did not cite any exemptions, and the terminology used does not exist within FOIA. The complainant requested an internal review on 1 August 2022, which the Trust refused to provide. Unfortunately, due to a change in the Commissioner’s staff, there was a significant delay in progressing the case, for which the Commissioner has apologised to the complainant and the public authority and has agreed to progress the original request with the public authority in accordance with FOIA as outlined below. Section 1 of FOIA requires a public authority to inform a requestor in writing as to whether it holds the information they are requesting and, if so, to make it available to them subject to any exemptions which may apply. Section 10 of FOIA requires a public authority to provide a response in compliance with section 1 within 20 working days of receipt of the request. Section 17 of FOIA requires a public authority to provide a valid refusal notice if it is refusing to disclose information in response to a request. Based on evidence available to the Commissioner, by the date of this notice the public authority has not issued a valid and substantive response under FOIA to this request. Therefore the Commissioner finds a breach of sections 1, 10 and 17 of FOIA.