London Borough of Waltham Forest

Following a number of recent complaints regarding freedom of information requests made to the London Borough of Waltham Forest (LBWF), the Information Commissioner has reached the view that the LBWF’s request handling practices do not conform to the Freedom of Information Code of Practice, issued by the Cabinet Office in July 2018 (the Code).

In particular, the Commissioner considers that the LBWF’s practices have not conformed with the following parts of the Code:

Part 1 – Right of Access, Information
Part 1 – Right of Access, Means of communication
Part 4 – Time limits for responding to requests
Part 5 – Internal reviews
Part 6 – Cost limit
Therefore, in accordance with section 48(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOIA), the Commissioner has elected to issue a practice recommendation (hereafter “recommendation”).

In the ‘Other matters’ section of this recommendation, the Commissioner has highlighted matters which do not fall within the scope of the Code, but which bear, more generally, on the LBWF’s compliance with the FOIA. Accordingly, those elements of their recommendation are issued under section 47(2) of the FOIA.

Section of Act/EIR and Finding: FOI 48(1), FOI 47(2)