The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice upholding a Freedom of Information (FOI) complaint against the London Borough of Croydon. The complaint was upheld because the public authority failed to respond to an FOI request within the 20 working days stipulated by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The decision notice requires the London Borough of Croydon to provide the complainant with a response to the request within 30 calendar days.

This action serves as a reminder to public authorities of their statutory obligations under FOIA. Compliance officers within local government should ensure that FOI request handling procedures are robust and that responses are issued within the statutory timeframes to avoid similar complaints and potential further action by the ICO. The primary required action is to respond to the outstanding request within the given deadline.