The information commissioner takes too long to make decisions over Freedom of Information appeals, according to campaigners. Figures released last week showed the public had to wait an average of 18 months before the Information Commissioner's Office – which is sponsored by Whitehall's Ministry of Justice – delivers a decision following FOI referrals. In one case, the ICO took almost four years to make a decision about the release of gun crime data in Yorkshire. Whitehall departments are regularly criticised for their slow reaction to FOI requests. Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said delays were ‘sufficiently serious and widespread to represent a major threat to the FOI Act's effectiveness'.
