ICO Enforcement Notice shows Liverpool Labour’s contempt for transparency

Data watchdog’s intervention in Liverpool City Council is unacceptable says Opposition Leader

Cllr Carl Cashman, Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrat, has slammed Liverpool Labour after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued an enforcement notice against Liverpool City Council for its appalling record on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.

He warned that Labour were risking the council backsliding into the opacity and corruption that dominated the Anderson era of Liverpool City Council.

The notice follows figures showing that in August just 66% of FOI requests were answered within the legal deadline, with the rate for 2025 so far an abysmal 57%. There are currently 100 overdue requests sitting unanswered.

Liverpool Liberal Democrats have had reports of local residents waiting in excess of 18 months for responses to FOIs. They argue that Labour have not instilled a culture of transparency in the Council, but instead hiding away from the public. 

Cllr Carl Cashman said:

"This is a disgrace. Once again, Liverpool Labour has dragged our city into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The ICO doesn’t hand out enforcement notices lightly – this is a public humiliation and proof that Labour has utterly failed to get a grip on transparency and accountability.

FOI is not optional. It is the law. Yet Labour have treated it as an inconvenience, kicking the can down the road and piling up a backlog that is now a national embarrassment. They’ve had years to sort this and instead we’re seeing the same old pattern: failure, denial, and then intervention from outside regulators."

The ICO notice forces the Council to:

• Eliminate its FOI backlog within four months
  
   
• Report regularly to the ICO on progress
  
   
• Publish an action plan within 30 days to hit a 90% compliance rate
  
   

Cllr Cashman added:

"Every time Labour promises improvement, we end up right back here – with watchdogs and commissioners stepping in because the Council can’t do its basic job. Residents deserve answers, journalists deserve access, and opposition councillors deserve scrutiny. Instead, Labour presides over secrecy, incompetence, and backsliding.

Liverpool deserves so much better than this cycle of failure. The Liberal Democrats will not let Labour sweep this under the carpet – we will keep fighting for real openness, accountability, and a Council that obeys the law instead of dodging it."