London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The complainant has requested information relating to Rapid Reviews conducted by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (the council) following child deaths or serious injuries. The council refused to disclose the information on the basis that the information is not held for the purposes of FOIA because, Tower Hamlets Safeguarding Children Partnership (THSCP) who hold the information is not a public authority and therefore the information is exempt from disclosure.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the requested information is held by the council for the purposes of FOIA. The Commissioner requires the council to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Issue a fresh response to the request in accordance with FOIA, on the basis that the requested information is held for the purposes of FOIA. The public authority must take these steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.