Chief Constable Commissioner for the Metropolis (Metropolitan Police Service)

The complainant has requested, from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (MPS), information relating to vehicles stolen in the UK and recovered abroad. At internal review stage, MPS cited section 12(1) of FOIA (‘exemption where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit’) for part of the request. During the Commissioner’s investigation, MPS explained that it’s relying on section 12(1) to refuse the whole request. The Commissioner’s decision is that MPS is correct to refuse the whole request on the basis of section 12(1); and MPS complied with section 16 (‘duty to provide advice and assistance’); and MPS breached sections 1(1)(a) (‘general right of access’) and 10(1) (‘time for compliance’), because it took more than 20 working days to confirm holding information within scope of the request; and MPS breached section 17(5) (‘refusal of request’), because it took more than 20 working days to issue a refusal in reliance on section 12. The Commissioner doesn’t require any steps in response to this decision notice.