West Mercia Police

The complainant has requested information from West Mercia Police (“the public authority”), in relation to referrals made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (“IOPC”) between 1 January 2017 and 31 August 2022. The public authority refused to provide the information, relying on section 12(1) of FOIA – cost of compliance exceeds the appropriate limit. The Commissioner’s decision is that the public authority was entitled to apply section 12(1) of FOIA to refuse the request. However, the Commissioner is not satisfied that the public authority provided sufficient advice and assistance to the complainant and as such, it has breached section 16 of FOIA – advice and assistance. The Commissioner does not require the public authority to take any steps as a result of this decision notice.