Metropolitan Police FOI Cost Limit Exemption Upheld Under Section 12

The ICO's decision confirms that the Metropolitan Police Service's reliance on section 12(2) of FOIA — which permits public authorities to refuse requests where the cost of locating and retrieving information would exceed the appropriate limit — was correct for this request concerning Operation Countryman records. The Commissioner also found no violation of the section 16(1) duty to provide advice and assistance.

For FOI practitioners in public authorities, this decision reinforces the validity of applying cost limit exemptions when request handling would exceed statutory thresholds. The decision provides confirmation that section 12(2) can be properly invoked without requiring demonstration that information is definitely held, provided the cost of determining this alone would exceed the limit.