The Information Commissioner’s Office has said it will monitor how efficiently Trafford Council responds to Freedom of Information requests.
The ICO is to keep track of how quickly Trafford handles its FOI requests – Photo credit: PA Images
The ICO said that it had identified “a significant number of cases not being responded to within the statutory time limit of 20 working days”.
As such, the timeliness of the council’s responses between 1 May and 31 July 2016 will be monitored.
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Trafford joins the Metropolitan Police Service, which has been monitored previously but has yet to demonstrate sufficient improvement to be taken off the list.
“[The Metropolitan Police Service] have implemented initiatives and measures to improve performance, but a growing volume of requests means that work hasn’t had enough of an impact on compliance with the law. We will continue to monitor them to ensure the necessary improvements are achieved,” the ICO said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the ICO said that the Ministry of Justice and Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland would be taken off their long-term monitoring after demonstrating sustained improvement.
The law requires public bodies to respond to FOI requests within a certain timeframe, and the ICO is responsible for ensuring this happens.
