30 October 2017, Central government
The complainant has requested numbers of reports of self-harm at an immigration removal centre, from the Home Office (the “HO”). The HO required additional time in which to consider the public interest in disclosure but, to date, has failed to complete its deliberations. The Commissioner’s decision is that the HO breached sections 1 and 10 of the FOIA in that it failed to provide a valid response to the request within 20 working days of receipt. Furthermore, by failing to complete its public interest deliberations within a reasonable timeframe, the Commissioner finds that it has breached section 17(3) of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the HO to comply with the request or issue a valid refusal notice as set out in section 17 of the FOIA.
FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld FOI 17: Upheld