Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

The complainant requested documentary evidence forwarded to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (the Council) by a third party. By the date of this notice the Council had not issued a substantive response to this request.
The Commissioner’s decision is that the Council has breached section 10(1) of the FOIA in that it failed to provide a valid response to the request within the statutory time frame of 20 working days.
The Commissioner requires the Council to take the following step to ensure compliance with the legislation.
• The Council must provide a substantive response to the request in accordance with its obligations under the FOIA.
The Council must take this step within 35 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. First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) Information Rights appeal EA/2021/0367 disposed of these proceedings by way of a consent order.