The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a formal information notice to the London Borough of Croydon after the authority failed to justify its refusal to disclose material requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
The notice, dated 19 February 2026, requires the council to provide the ICO with a substantive response to a letter sent on 22 January 2026. The Commissioner is investigating whether Croydon handled an FOI request submitted on 14 April 2025 in accordance with Part I of FOIA.
According to the notice, *“the Commissioner wrote to the council on 22 January 2026 requesting its justification for refusing to provide some of the information requested by the complainant.”* The authority did not supply the required explanation, prompting the statutory intervention.
Using powers under section 51 FOIA, the ICO has ordered Croydon to furnish a full response within 30 calendar days. The notice specifies that the council must provide “a substantive response to the Commissioner’s letter of 22 January 2025 (fresh copy attached).”
Failure to comply could result in the Commissioner certifying the matter to the High Court, where it may be treated as contempt of court under section 54 FOIA.
Croydon has a right of appeal to the First‑tier Tribunal (Information Rights) within 28 days. Appeals submitted late will only be accepted where the Tribunal considers there are “special circumstances.”
The notice was signed by Senior Case Officer Esi Mensah and issued from the ICO’s Wilmslow headquarters.
The case adds to a growing number of FOIA compliance interventions across local government, as the ICO continues to emphasise timeliness, transparency and statutory accountability in public authorities’ handling of information rights requests.
