MPS issued second enforcement notice for FOI failings
Published: 03/04/2026
| ICO
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a second enforcement notice to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) due to ongoing failures to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Despite a previous enforcement notice issued in 2024, the ICO found that the force failed to achieve sustained improvements, with timeliness rates remaining below 70% throughout 2025.
The ICO acknowledged that MPS currently faces significant pressure, with FOI request volumes rising by 66% since 2015 to 7,056 in 2025. However, while MPS cleared its previous backlog ahead of schedule and established a full FOI team in February 2026, the ICO expressed serious concern that MPS has never exceeded a 75.9% compliance rate in the 21 years since the FOIA came into effect in 2005. Furthermore, as of 13 February 2026, MPS still held 106 overdue cases and stated that achieving a zero-backlog position was unrealistic.
The new enforcement notice mandates a strict timeline for improvement. The MPS must ensure that by 1 October 2026, it has no requests open more than 20 working days past receipt, barring any requests subject to a public interest extension. In addition, MPS must achieve a 90% compliance rate for the first quarter of 2027 and maintain this minimum standard through to October 2027.
In a LinkedIn post commenting on the action, Jon Baines asked: "How on earth has that been allowed to happen?"
Training Announcement: The BCS Practitioner Certificate in Freedom of Information offers an in-depth examination of the legislation, codes of practice, frameworks, standards, and ethics concerning the right to request recorded information held by public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Find out more.
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