Appeal delays ‘not our fault’ says ICO

It would appear that with the introduction of a new Information Commissioner the office is no longer putting itself in the stocks for its slow handling of appeals.

I received this letter today relating to an appeal I have lodged against a BBC decision. Normally the letter just tells me they have a lot of work on and that eventually they hope to get to my case.

But this letter is a significant change of course for the Information Commissioner’s Office. They lay the blame quite squarely at a lack of resources - which means money - and by inference the finger is pointed straight at the Ministry of Justice, who hold the purse-strings.

Is this the sign of things to come at the ICO where instead of doing the best they can with limited resources they just throw their hands in the air and say: “It’s not our fault”?

If the latter option is the one that the ICO is going to take my heart sinks as it would suggest a defeatist attitude to backlogs will pervade the organisation and the wait for decisions will take even longer. Let’s hope I’m wrong.

Oh, and if anybody can help me get rid of the line on my scanner I will be eternally grateful.