Want to find out about your council's Freedom of Information performance? Make a request under the FoI Act

I came across an article the other day in which the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had published the names of 33 organisations, including 18 local authorities, who are being monitored after failing to respond to freedom of information requests on time.

Naturally I wanted to see if Haringey Council were included. I'm delighted to say they weren't, but noted that 7 of the 18 (almost 40%) were London Councils.

So I thought I'd see if I could check Haringey's performance and rang the ICO. You can imagine my childish glee when I was told that the only way I'd squeeze that information out of them was to submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act. The person I spoke to was doubtful as to whether the information would be released however!

That's worth a smile on a day like this. So, is the ICO affected by the cuts?

The list, which is compiled using complaint numbers and breaches of the statutory time limits, is reviewed quarterly.

The 18 local authorities are:

Babergh DC
Barnet LBC
Birmingham City Council
Bromsgrove DC
Calderdale MBC
Croydon LBC
Ealing LBC
Gravesham BC
Great Yarmouth BC
Hammersmith and Fulham LBC
Islington LBC
Lancashire CC
Medway Council
Newham LBC
Surrey Heath BC
Westminster City Council
Wirral Metropolitan BC
Wolverhampton City Council