ICO Decision Notice: Public Authority Failed FOI Request

ICO Decision Notices

Filed February 27th, 2026

Detected March 6th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued a decision notice against the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request within the statutory 20-day period. The ICO requires the department to respond to the complainant within 30 calendar days.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice (IC/461317/D6S0) against the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology for failing to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by not responding to a request within the stipulated 20 working days. The ICO has upheld the complaint and mandated the department to provide the complainant with a response within 30 calendar days.

This decision highlights the importance of adhering to statutory timeframes for responding to information requests. Public authorities must ensure their internal processes are robust enough to meet these deadlines. Failure to do so, as demonstrated in this case, can lead to formal intervention by the ICO. The department is now under a binding requirement to act within the specified 30-day period, with potential further scrutiny if non-compliance persists.

What to do next

Ensure all FOI requests are processed and responded to within the statutory 20 working days.
Review internal FOI handling procedures to identify and rectify any bottlenecks causing delays.
Comply with the ICO's directive to respond to the specific complainant within 30 calendar days.

Source document (simplified)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Date 27 February 2026
Sector Central government
Decision(s) FOI 10: Upheld The public authority has failed to respond to this request within 20 working days, as specified under FOIA. 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.