Tower Hamlets FOI 3 Upheld, 30 Days
Summary
The ICO has upheld a Freedom of Information complaint against the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, finding that safeguarding Rapid Review information relating to child deaths or serious injuries is held by the council for the purposes of FOIA. The council had wrongly refused disclosure on the basis that the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership is not a public authority. The ICO requires the council to issue a fresh FOIA response acknowledging that the information is held by the council within 30 calendar days.
“The public authority must take these steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice.”
Public authorities that commission or contract with external partnerships for safeguarding functions should review their information-holding status for FOIA purposes — contracting out a function does not automatically remove FOIA obligations if the information is held by the public authority for those purposes. ICO Decision Notices are binding on the named public authority and set the interpretive position on information held for the purposes of FOIA.
What changed
The ICO Commissioner has determined that the London Borough of Tower Hamlets holds the requested safeguarding Rapid Review information for the purposes of FOIA, rejecting the council's argument that the Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership is not a public authority and therefore the information is exempt. The council must now issue a fresh response to the original FOIA request acknowledging that the information is held by the council.\n\nPublic authorities that contract out safeguarding review functions to partnerships or third-party bodies should be aware that such outsourcing does not necessarily remove FOIA obligations — if the information is held for the purposes of FOIA by the contracting authority, it remains disclosable. Non-compliance with this decision notice may result in the Commissioner certifying the fact to the High Court, which may be treated as contempt of court.
What to do next
- Issue a fresh response to the request in accordance with FOIA, on the basis that the requested information is held for the purposes of FOIA
- Take the required steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Date 16 April 2026
- Sector Local government
- Decision(s) FOI 3: Upheld The complainant has requested information relating to Rapid Reviews conducted by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (the council) following child deaths or serious injuries. The council refused to disclose the information on the basis that the information is not held for the purposes of FOIA because, Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership (THSCP) who hold the information is not a public authority and therefore the information is exempt from disclosure. The Commissioner’s decision is that the requested information is held by the council for the purposes of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Issue a fresh response to the request in accordance with FOIA, on the basis that the requested information is held for the purposes of FOIA. The public authority must take these steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.
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