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Decision 276/2025

Decision 276/2025:  Officer suspensions and misconduct investigations – failure to respond


Authority: Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland
Case Ref: 202501821
 

Summary

The Applicant asked the Authority for information about officer suspensions and misconduct investigations in the Inverclyde area. This decision finds that the Authority failed to respond to the Applicant’s request and requirement for review within the timescales allowed by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA).

Background

  1. The Applicant made an information request to the Authority on 26 July 2025.
  2. The Authority did not respond to the Applicant’s information request.
  3. On 28 August 2025, the Applicant wrote to the Authority requiring a review in respect of its failure to respond.
  4. On 28 August 2025, the Authority acknowledged receipt of this requirement for review and referred to having received an unprecedented volume of requests recently, and that this had affected its ability to meet the statutory timescales in some cases.
  5. The Applicant did not receive a response to his requirement for review.
  6. The Applicant wrote to the Commissioner on 9 October 2025, stating that he was dissatisfied with the Authority’s failure to respond and applying to the Commissioner for a decision in terms of section 47(1) of FOISA.
  7. The Commissioner determined that the application complied with section 47(2) of FOISA and that he had the power to carry out an investigation. 

Investigation

  1. Section 49(3)(a) of FOISA requires the Commissioner to notify public authorities of an application and to give them an opportunity to comment. The Commissioner did this on 10 October 2025.
  2. The Commissioner received submissions from the Authority.  These submissions are considered below.
  3. The Authority accepted that it had failed to respond to the Applicant’s request and requirement for review within the timescales allowed by FOISA.  It explained that it was experiencing an exceptionally busy year so far with a record number of information requests being received, affecting both the core FOI Team and the business areas that it relies on for information.  It noted that its Professional Standards team, who was researching this request, has been particularly impacted by this increase in demand.
  4. The Authority stated that it would like to take the opportunity to, again, express its apologies to the Applicant for any inconvenience caused.
  5. Section 10(1) of FOISA gives Scottish public authorities a maximum of 20 working days following the date of receipt of the request to comply with a request for information.  This is subject to qualifications which are not relevant in this case.
  6. It is a matter of fact that the Authority did not provide a response to the Applicant’s request for information within 20 working days, so the Commissioner finds that it failed to comply with section 10(1) of FOISA.
  7. Section 21(1) of FOISA gives Scottish public authorities a maximum of 20 working days following the date of receipt of the requirement to comply with a requirement for review.  Again, this is subject to qualifications which are not relevant in this case.
  8. It is a matter of fact that the Authority did not provide a response to the Applicant’s requirement for review within 20 working days, so the Commissioner finds that it failed to comply with section 21(1) of FOISA.
  9. The remainder of section 21 sets out the requirements to be followed by a Scottish public authority in carrying out a review. As no review has been carried out in this case, the Commissioner finds that the Authority failed to discharge these requirements: he now requires a review to be carried out in accordance with section 21.
  10. The Commissioner recommends that the Authority considers whether it would be appropriate to apologise to the Applicant directly, for its failure to comply.

Decision 

The Commissioner finds that the Authority failed to comply with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) in dealing with the information request made by the Applicant.  In particular, the Authority failed to respond to the Applicant’s request for information and requirement for review within the timescales laid down by sections 10(1) and 21(1) of FOISA.  The Commissioner requires the Authority to issue a response by 5 January 2026.

Appeal

Should either the Applicant or the Authority wish to appeal against this decision, they have the right to appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law only.  Any such appeal must be made within 42 days after the date of intimation of this decision.

Enforcement 

If the Authority fails to comply with this decision, the Commissioner has the right to certify to the Court of Session that the Authority has failed to comply.  The Court has the right to inquire into the matter and may deal with the Authority as if it had committed a contempt of court.

 

Jennifer Ross

Deputy Head of Enforcement 

 

11 November 2025