FOI statistics April-June 2008

The quarterly monitoring statistics on FOI implementation within central government for April-June 2008 have been published:

Executive summary

Departments of State reported receiving 4,879 “non-routine” information requests during the second quarter of 2008 (Q2). Other monitored bodies received 3,986 requests. Across all monitored bodies, a total of 8,865 requests were received, of which 92 per cent had been processed at the time of monitoring. This includes 183 requests handled under the amended
Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) which came into force on 1 January 2005. [see Table 1]

The 8,865 requests across all monitored bodies received in the second quarter of 2008 is 11 per cent greater than the 7,988 received during the corresponding quarter of 2007, and is the highest quarterly total since Q1 of 2007. [see Table A]

During Q2 of 2008, 87 per cent of all monitored bodies’ requests (excluding those “on hold” or lapsed) were “in time”, in that they were processed within the statutory deadline* or were subject to a permitted deadline extension. This figure is two percentage points lower than in the previous quarter, and four percentage points lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2007. [see Table 2 and Table B]

Of all “resolvable” requests received during Q2 of 2008 (i.e. requests where it was possible to make a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought), 59 per cent were granted in full, a small increase compared to the previous quarter. [see Table 3 and Table C]

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