Tony Richardson v The Information Commissioner

The Appellant lodged his appeal with the Tribunal by post on 03 March 2026. The notice of appeal comprised of four handwritten pages of A4, and appears to relate to a complaint against Hartlepool Borough Council. No completed GRC1 form was provided, and the Appellant did not provide a copy of the Decision Notice that he is seeking to challenge.

Case Management Directions and a copy of a blank GRC1 form were sent to the Appellant by post on 18 March 2026. The Case Management Directions required the Appellant to resubmit a notice of appeal with all required documents within 14 days of the date on which he was sent the Case Management Directions.

The Case Management Directions dated 18 March 2026 included the endorsement that they were "A formal notice under rule 8(3)(a) of the 2009 Rules that a failure to comply with these directions could lead to the striking out of proceedings”.

Further Case Management Directions dated 30 April 2026 were issued by post on 01 May 2026, noting that the Appellant had not complied with the previous directions and requiring the Appellant to complete the GRC1 form and to provide the full Decision Notice by 14 May 2026.

The Case Management Directions stated that “The Appellant is asked to note that failure to comply with the direction above (namely the directions to provide the documents by 14 May 2026) could lead to the Tribunal striking out this appeal for failure to comply pursuant to Rule 8(3)(a) of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 without further direction”.

On 12 May 2026 the Appellant contacted the Tribunal by telephone and requested that the Case Management Directions were resent in a larger font. He also indicated that he would require an extension of time to enable his son to assist him with completing the forms. The Appellant was informed that he would need to complete a GRC5 form to apply for an extension of time.

Reasonable adjustments are in place for the Appellant. He was sent a blank copy of the GRC1, the GRC5 and the Case Management Directions in large font by post on 12 May 2026.

No further correspondence has been received by the Tribunal from the Appellant.

Pursuant to rule 22(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009, the notice of appeal must contain certain specified information. In addition, if the proceedings challenge a decision, then rule 22(3) also requires the Appellant to provide a copy of any written record of that decision with the notice of appeal.

Pursuant to rule 7(2) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009, if a party has failed to comply with a requirement in the rules, then the Tribunal may take such action as the Tribunal considers just which may include, inter alia, exercising its power under rule 8 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 to strike out a case.

Rule 8(3)(a) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 provides that the Tribunal may strike out the whole or a part of the proceedings if the Appellant has failed to comply with a direction which stated that failure by the Appellant to comply with the direction could lead to the striking out of the proceedings or part of them.

I am satisfied that the Appellant has not complied with the Case Management Directions dated 30 April 2026 and has made no attempt to do so. He has now been requested to provide the GRC1 and relevant documents on two separate occasions but has failed to do so. The Appellant has been notified twice that a failure to comply with the directions could lead to the appeal being struck out. In all of the circumstances, and taking into account the interests of justice and the overriding objective, it is appropriate to strike out the appeal.