Metropolitan Police Service

The complainant has requested information from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) relating to a certain named file. MPS applied section 14(1) of FOIA to the complainant’s request due to difficulty in retrieving the file during the Covid pandemic. The Commissioner’s decision is that MPS correctly applied section 14(1) of FOIA at the time of the request, however as it has failed to communicate with the complainant and keep them updated as to the review of the file, it has failed to comply with its duty under section 16 of FOIA to provide advice and assistance to the complainant. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Communicate with the complainant to let them know the position regarding the review of the file and whether section 23(1) of FOIA applies to the entire file or whether the review shows that some information contained in the file can now be disclosed to the complainant.