ICO Decision Notice: Cabinet Office FOI Request Breach

ICO Decision Notices

Filed January 30th, 2026

Detected February 11th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice regarding a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made to the Cabinet Office. The ICO upheld a complaint that the Cabinet Office breached FOI rules by failing to respond to a request within the statutory 20-working day period.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice (IC-372572-H7D1) concerning a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the UK Cabinet Office. The complainant sought information regarding Nigel Farage and Reform UK. While the ICO determined that any information held would not be subject to FOIA, it found that the Cabinet Office breached section 10(1) of FOIA by failing to respond to the request within the mandated 20 working days.

This decision highlights the importance of adhering to statutory response times for FOI requests, even when the substantive information sought may not be disclosable under FOIA. Government agencies must ensure their internal processes are robust enough to meet these deadlines to avoid breaches. While no specific penalties are detailed in this notice, failure to comply with FOIA obligations can lead to further scrutiny and potential sanctions from the ICO.

What to do next

Review internal FOI request handling procedures to ensure compliance with the 20-working day response deadline.
Ensure all FOI requests are logged and tracked to monitor response times.

Source document (simplified)

Cabinet Office

Date 30 January 2026
Sector Central government
Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld, FOI 3: Not upheld The complainant submitted a request to the Cabinet Office seeking information the Prime Minister held “about the 'dangerous right wing politics' of Nigel Farage and/or Reform UK”. The Cabinet Office initially refused to answer this on the basis that it was an invalid request for the purposes of FOIA. It subsequently accepted that it was a valid request but explained that any information held would not be held by it for the purposes of FOIA. The Commissioner’s decision is that any information held by the Cabinet Office falling within the scope of the request would, by virtue of section 3(2)(a), not be held by it for the purposes of FOIA. However, the Commissioner has concluded that the Cabinet Office breached section 10(1) of FOIA by not responding to the request within 20 working days.