Annual central government FOI statistics 2010

The Ministry of Justice has published the 2010 annual statistics on the implementation and operation of the FOI Act in central government.

The report shows:

• central government bodies received 43,921 "non routine" information requests in 2010, 8% more than in 2009. 
• Departments of State received 27,410 of these requests, an increase of 16% compared to 2009. Other monitored bodies received 16,511 requests, 2% less than in 2009.
• the Ministry of Justice received the largest number of requests (3,174), followed by the Department of Work and Pensions (3,145) Home Office (3,069), Ministry of Defence (2,956), Department for Transport (2,864), Treasury (2,064) and Department of Health (2,023).
• 86% of all requests were answered within the standard 20 working day deadline, compared to 82% in 2009. Departments of State answered 83% of requests within 20 working days, compared to 91% for other monitored bodies.
• 57% of all "resolvable" requests were granted in full, 15% were withheld in part and 25% withheld in full. 

Ranked in order of their performance in meeting the 20 working day deadline (with no. of requests received in brackets), the list of departments is as follows:

• Department of Health 99% (2,023)
• HM Treasury 95% (2,062)
• Attorney General's Office 93% (127)
• Department for Transport 89% (2,887)
• Communities and Local Government 89% (929)
• Northern Ireland Office 89% (214)
• DEFRA 87% (551)
• Wales Office 87% (119)
• Department of Work and Pensions 87% (3,145)
• Department for International Development 86% (402)
• Scotland Office 86% (139)
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport 85% (607)
• Export Credit Guarantee Department 85% (65)
• Department of Energy and Climate Change 85% (576)
• Ministry of Justice 84% (3,174)
• Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 83% (1,034)
• Government Equalities Office 80% (106)
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office 79% (1,184)
• Home Office 77% (3,069)
• Department for Education (76% (880)
• Cabinet Office 72% (1,081)
• Ministry of Defence 60% (2,916)

The report is available as a pdf here. The statistics can be downloaded in Excel or CSV format here.

Central government FOI statistics April-June 2010

The quarterly Freedom of Information statistics for central government have been published for April to June 2010. The Department of Health continued its good record on timeliness, managing to respond to 98% of requests within the standard 20 working day deadline for the 3rd quarter in succession. The Treasury also answered 97% of requests within 20 working days. Overall, timeliness by government departments seems to be steadily improving - departments answered 83% of requests in 20 days in Q2 of 2010 compared to 79% in Q1 of 2010, 76% in Q4 of 2009 and 75% in Q3 of 2009. The MoD still lags behind on 64%, though this is an improvement on its 50% in Q1 of 2010.

Executive summary [see Table 1 and Table A]
Across all monitored bodies, a total of 10,286 requests were received - an increase of 3 per cent on the second quarter of 2009 (Q2).

95 per cent of requests received had been processed at the time of monitoring.

Departments of State reported receiving 6,339 “non-routine” information requests during the Q2 of 2010 – an increase of 10 per cent on the second quarter of 2009. Other monitored bodies received 3,947 requests – a decrease of 6 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2009.

There were 296 requests handled under the amended Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) which came into force on 1 January 2005 – an increase of 57 percent compared to the same quarter in 2009 although a decrease of 18 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

Timeliness [see Table 2 and Table B]
During Q2 of 2010, 90 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 is higher than in the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2009.

Figures for individual Departments of State ranged from 69 per cent (Ministry of Defence) to 100 per cent (Department of Health and Department for Culture, Media and Sport). For the 20 Departments of State who received more than 20 requests in the quarter, 12 processed more than 90 per cent of requests “in time”.

Outcomes [see Table 3 and Table C]
Of all “resolvable” requests received during Q2 of 2010 (i.e. requests where it was possible to make a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought), 58 per cent were granted in full, higher than both the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2009.

Figures for individual Departments of State ranged from 31 per cent (Ministry of Justice) to 81 per cent (Department for Education). However, caution should be taken in reading too much into these differences as it at least in part reflects the nature of requests received. For example, Ministry of Justice receives a large number of requests which relate to individual court cases which are exempt under the Act and therefore with-held in full.

ICO FOI caseload progress

More on publication of the Information Commissioner's 2010 Annual Report which outlined the significant progress that has been made in reducing the backlog of FOI complaints, which was seriously undermining the effectiveness of the FOI Act. The report states that the ICO now has 1,035 open cases, 439 fewer than at the start of the year. Despite a 20% increase in complaints to the ICO in 2009/10, there was a 39% increase in the number of cases closed. 628 cases were closed with a decision notice, more than double the 295 in the previous year. The report contained the following table showing the age profile of open cases on 31 March 2010 compared to 1 April 2009.

Another table shows that 82% of cases closed were less than a year old. This is a tremendous turnaround from the position highlighted in a report on 'Delays in investigating Freedom of Information Complaints' published by the Campaign for Freedom of Information in July 2009 and extremely welcome news for requesters.

The frustration that delays cause requesters was highlighted by Ann Clwyd MP in a debate in Westminster Hall on 13 July 2010.

...the advent of the Freedom of Information Act should be celebrated. It was one of the triumphs of the Labour Government, and it enables us, the public, to subject public authorities to the kind of scrutiny that was never possible before. It gives us access to all the inconvenient and embarrassing bits of information that some public authorities would rather not disclose.

However, public confidence and the effectiveness of the Act are being undermined by the difficulty in pursuing complaints against authorities that refuse to release information that the Act requires them to release. The problem is that it is just too easy for public authorities to obstruct the process. If they ignore enough letters, miss enough deadlines and pretend that they do not really know what is happening and why, they will be able successfully to evade an information request for a long enough period to diminish the detrimental impact, reduce embarrassment and avoid the accountability that release of the information would cause...

Responding to the debate, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Jonathan Djanogly said:

The current economic climate is, of course, extremely challenging, but the Government are committed to providing the ICO with the best deal possible to maintain its progress and to fulfil its vital role. I have to say that this is not just about money; it is also about people and expertise. I am sure that the right hon. Lady will be interested to know that three experienced caseworkers have been seconded from central Government, helping to cut through the ICO's backlog.

The commissioner has made great strides to improve the efficiency of his operation to provide increasing value for money. That is evidenced in the remarkable increase in case clearance that I have just mentioned.

...It is important that we continue to support the commissioner, as his work is at the heart of the Government's transparency agenda. The commissioner will publish his annual report tomorrow and the right hon. Lady will have the opportunity to see it. I am sure that she will be pleased to note the steps that the Government have already taken and will continue to take to make more information available to the public, shedding light on public affairs, from the corridors of Whitehall to the meeting rooms of borough councils and local schools.

The right hon. Lady specifically asked me to say whether the commissioner has enough power to regulate the freedom of information regime effectively. We believe that, as things stand, that is so. The powers are there.

Read the full debate here.

Dept of Health sets standard on FOI timeliness

The quarterly Freedom of Information statistics for central government have been published for January to March 2010. Credit to the Department of Health, which dealt with 98% of all requests within the standard 20 working day deadline. This is the second highest ever achieved by a Whitehall department. The Privy Council Office holds the record - it answered 100% of requests within 20 working days between April and June 2005 - but it only received 25 requests in that period. This is the second consecutive quarter DoH has achieved 98%.

Executive Summary
Volumes [see Table 1]
Across all monitored bodies, a total of 11,199 requests were received an increase of 9 per cent on quarter 1 2009.

93 per cent of requests received had been processed at the time of monitoring.

Departments of State reported receiving 6,857 “non-routine” information requests during the first quarter of 2010 (Q1). Other monitored bodies received 4,342 requests.

363 requests handled under the amended Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) which came into force on 1 January 2005.

Timeliness [see Table 2 and Table B]
During Q1 of 2010, 89 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 above both the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2009.

Figures for individual Departments of State ranged from 55 per cent (Ministry of Defence) to 100 per cent (Department of Health). For the 21 Departments of State who received more than 20 requests in the quarter, 15 had more than 90 per cent of requests processed “in time”.

Outcomes [see Table 3 and Table C]
Of all “resolvable” requests received during Q1 of 2010 (i.e. requests where it was possible to make a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought), 54 per cent were granted in full, slightly lower than both the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2009.

Figures for individual Departments of State ranged from 24 per cent (Cabinet Office) to 77 per cent (Communities and Local Government and the Government Equalities Office).

 The stats can be downloaded in Excel format here.

MoJ changes to Freedom of Information statistics

The Ministry of Justice has published details of the changes it plans to make to the FOI statistics published in the 'Annual report on freedom of information in central government'.

These changes relate to concerns that the Campaign for Freedom of Information has been raising with the MoJ for some time (see 'Delays in investigating Freedom of Information Complaints') and which it recently highlighted in a response to a consultation by the UK Statistics Authority.

The Campaign has been concerned that:

• published statistics on time taken to carry out public interest test (PIT) reviews present the most delayed cases as a single class of those taking an extension of “more than 40 working days” with no further breakdown of the actual extensions involved.

• statistics on the time taken for internal reviews (IRs) present the most delayed cases in a single class of those taking “more than 60 working days”, again with no further breakdown

• cases which are not complete by February of the following year are not included in either the current year’s statistics or those relating to the following year, so that many of the most delayed cases are not dealt with in the statistics at all.

The new MOJ statistical note states:

5. Currently the freedom of information monitoring statistics report on those public interest test extensions and internal reviews where the initial request was first received during the year, and the PIT or IR had been completed by the time the annual statistics are collected (usually in the February of the following year).

6. Data on the durations of PITs and IRs are collected in a number of time bands (e.g. “5 working days or less”, “between 6 and 10 working days”, etc).  The uppermost time band for the duration of PITs is “more than 40 working days”, while the uppermost time band for the duration of IRs is “more than 60 working days”.  No data is gathered on the durations of those PITs and IRs which had not been completed by the time the annual statistics are collected.

7. The specific changes that will be made to the durations data are:

   a) Further time bands for durations of PITs and IRs will be added, so that the uppermost time band in each case is “more than 100 working days”.

   b) New statistics will be collected from each monitored body on the eventual durations of those PITs and IRs which were recorded as being ongoing in the previous year’s annual statistics.

The Campaign welcomes both changes. However, it remains concerned that, despite the additional information, details of the most seriously delayed cases will still not be adequate. One internal review is known to have taken 29 months. Even under the new statistics, such extreme delays will not be properly identified but merely included in the category of cases taking more than 100 working days.

Adequacy of Ministry of Justice's FOI statistics

The Campaign for Freedom of Information has responded to a request from the UK Statistics Authority for its views on the adequacy of the Ministry of Justice's freedom of information monitoring statistics. The response outlines the Campaign's concerns about the quality of the statistics describing the delays by central government in dealing with requests.

Download the response here.

FOI statistics July-Sept 2009

The quarterly statistics bulletin on FOI implementation within central government have been published for the period July to September 2009.

Executive summary
Departments of State reported receiving 6,208 “non-routine” information requests during the third quarter of 2009 (Q3). Other monitored bodies received 4,389 requests. Across all monitored bodies, a total of 10,597 requests were received, of which 91 per cent had been processed at the time of monitoring. This includes 238 requests handled under the amended Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) which came into force on 1 January 2005. [see Table 1]

The 10,597 requests across all monitored bodies received in the third quarter of 2009 is 20 per cent greater than the 8,825 received during the corresponding quarter of 2008. [see Table A]

During Q3 of 2009, 86 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 the same as in the previous quarter but slightly lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2008. [see Table 2 and Table B] Of all “resolvable” requests received during Q3 of 2009 (i.e. requests where it was possible to make a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought), 55 per cent were granted in full, the same as in the previous quarter but slightly lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2008. [see Table 3 and Table C]

The figures show that Departments of State met the standard 20 working day deadline for 75% of requests, with the Ministry of Defence having the worst record at just 40% (a significant reduction on the 64% achieved in the preceding quarter). Other monitored bodies performed better, with the exception of the Serious Fraud Office, which answered only 38% of the comparatively small number of requests it received within the standard deadline.

The departments that withheld considerably more requests in full than the average were the Cabinet Office (51%) and Ministry of Justice (44%).

FOI Statistics Apr-June 2009

The quarterly statistics bulletin on FOI implementation within central government have been published for the period April to June 2009.

Executive summary
Departments of State reported receiving 5,769 “non-routine” information requests during the second quarter of 2009 (Q2). Other monitored bodies received 4,195 requests. Across all monitored bodies, a total of 9,964 requests were received, of which 92 per cent had been processed at the time of monitoring. This includes 189 requests handled under the amended Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) which came into force on 1 January 2005. [see Table 1]

The 9,964 requests across all monitored bodies received in the second quarter of 2009 is 12 per cent greater than the 8,865 received during the corresponding quarter of 2008. [see Table A]

During Q2 of 2009, 86 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 the same as in the previous quarter but slightly lower than in the corresponding quarter of 2008. [see Table 2 and Table B] Of all “resolvable” requests received during Q2 of 2009 (i.e. requests where it was possible to make a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought), 55 per cent were granted in full, slightly lower than in the previous quarter. [see Table 3 and Table C]

Quarterly statistics - April to June 2009 (Pdf 0.18mb 38 pages)

Guidance on publishing FOI monitoring data

The Ministry of Justice has produced new guidance to help local government and other sectors outside central government to publish FOI monitoring data:

This guidance is for all organisations covered by the Freedom of Information Act that do not currently report statistics through the Ministry of Justice statistical release process.

Its purpose is to encourage local government and other bodies subject to the legislation to publish to the same standard as the central government and Crown-body information that is currently produced by the department.

The guidance includes a section that covers various aspects of the Ministry of Justice's freedom of information monitoring statistics, including monitoring proformas and a series of presentational tables that can be used for quarterly and annual reporting.

Its purpose is to encourage local government and other bodies subject to the legislation to publish to the same standard as the central government and Crown-body information that is currently produced by the department.

The guidance includes a section that covers various aspects of the Ministry of Justice's freedom of information monitoring statistics, including monitoring proformas and a series of presentational tables that can be used for quarterly and annual reporting.

The guidance and Excel files can be be downloaded here.

Freedom of Information Annual Report 2008

The Ministry of Justice has published the Annual Report on the operation of the FOI Act in Central Government 2008:

Foreword
More than four years have passed since the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, marking a step change in openness and transparency in public bodies. The Act has opened up the internal workings of government and public authorities, making them more accountable than ever before and fundamentally changing the relationship between the citizen and the state.
...
the Government need to continue to build on the culture change already achieved to ensure that freedom of information keeps pace. I am confident that the Freedom of Information Act has already brought about a permanent change in culture and will continue to have a positive and profound effect on the United Kingdom for many years to come.
Rt Hon Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Justice.

Some of the most interesting things are:

• Monitored bodies received 34,950 "non-routine" FOI & EIR requests - 6% more than 2007
• Departments of State received 19,175 requests- 13% more than 2007.
• 82% of requests received a substantive response within the standard 20 working day deadline. However, for Departments of State this figure was 76%.
• Departments of State "were more than twice as likely to use the permitted extension of the 20-day deadline to allow for consideration of the balance of the public interest."
• 57% of public interest extensions were completed in 20 working days or less, while 21% took longer than 40 working days.
  
• Of the "resolvable" requests, 60% were granted in full, 13% were withheld in part, 21% were withheld in full and 5% had not received a substantive response at the time of monitoring.
• Monitored bodies received 959 internal reviews on the grounds that some or all of the requested information was withheld. This is slightly higher than the 857 received in 2007.
  
• The initial handling of the request under review was upheld fully in 76% of cases. Only 8% upheld the requester's complaint in full.
  
• 38% of internal reviews took 20 working days or less, while 30% took between 21 and 40 working days. 16% took longer than 60 working days.
  
• There were 153 appeal to the ICO relating to the refusal if information requests by monitored bodies, a fall compared to the 222 in 2007.
  
• "Reflecting growing FOI expertise across central government, the Clearing House...changed its referral procedures to focus only on the most complex and challenging cases, resulting in a significant drop in the number of referrals".
  

Download the report here.

FOI statistics Oct-Dec 2007

The quarterly monitoring statistics on FOI implementation within central government have been published for the period October to December 2007.

Number of requests
Departments of State reported receiving a total of 4,078 information requests under the Freedom of Information Act and the associated Environmental Information Regulations during the quarter from 1 October to 31 December 2007 (Q4). Other monitored bodies reported having received 3,726 requests. Across all monitored bodies, therefore, a total of 7,804 requests were reported.

This overall total for Q4 of 2007 is 2 per cent fewer than in the corresponding quarter last year (i.e. Q4 of 2006). The number of requests received by Departments of State fell by 10 per cent compared to the same period last year, while the total received by other monitored bodies increased by 7 per cent. Departments of State accounted for 52 per cent of all requests received by monitored bodies in Q4 of 2007.

Timeliness of response to requests
The FoI Act requires public bodies to respond to written requests for information within 20 working days of receipt (with limited exceptions, for example to allow additional time for the consideration of public interest). Across all monitored bodies, 83 per cent of requests received during Q4 of 2007 were sent a response within this standard deadline. Ninety per cent of requests received during Q4 were “in time”, in that they either received a response within the standard deadline or were subject to a permitted deadline extension. Both of these measures are slightly lower than in the previous quarter and in the equivalent quarter last year.
Download the Q4 2007 stats here.

Initial outcomes of requests
Of the “resolvable” requests received during Q4, 60 per cent were granted in full, 12 per cent were withheld in part, and 20 per cent were withheld in full at the time of monitoring. The remaining 8 per cent had not yet received a substantive response.

The proportion of “resolvable” requests granted in full in Q4, 60 per cent, was higher than in the previous quarter (58 per cent). The proportion of requests in Q4 that were fully withheld, 20 per cent, was slightly lower than in the previous quarter.

Download the Quarterly statistics: October to December 2007 (pdf)