The complainant has requested information from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which had been provided to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The request concerns the FOS’s requirements as a certified alternative dispute entity as set out in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations 2015. The FOS provided some information but withheld part of the information citing section 36(2)(c) and, later, section 36(2)(b)(ii) – prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs. The Commissioner’s decision is that the FOS correctly cited section 36(2)(b)(ii) with regard to the withheld information and that the public interest favours non-disclosure. However, the FOS has breached section 10(1) of the FOIA in that it failed to provide a valid response to the request within the statutory timeframe of 20 working days. The Commissioner does not require any further steps to be taken.
FOI 36: Complaint not upheld FOI 10: Complaint upheld
Citations:
[2021] UKICO IC-46177
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Information
Updated: 19 October 2022; Ref: scu.665825