The ICO is a goddamn farce
My experience of it has been that you make the FOI request to Corruptville Council, they answer a completely different set of questions, you appear to the ICO, then 6 months later they say "Now, now, Corruptville Council, you really should answer the question." Then exactly nothing. Else. Happens.
You ask the ICO what they're going to do about it, and the answer is "Well, we could fine them, but we won't." Press them further, and the real answer is (srlsy) "We won't fine them because we don't think they'll pay it, and we don't want to incur the costs of a court case, blah blah not an effective use of taxpayer resources."
So what, exactly, is the point of an paper tiger ICO that blows over in the gentlest breeze?