Central government sees non-routine FOI and EIR requests rocket in 2009
The number of non-routine freedom of information and environmental information regulations (EIR) requests received by central government bodies rose by 16% in 2009, the Ministry of Justice has revealed.
The number of requests for an internal review also shot up by 56% over the 12 months, while appeals to the Information Commissioner’s office increased by 34%.
The MoJ's 2009 annual statistics bulletin, which monitored 43 central government bodies including all major Departments of State, found that:
- 40,548 requests were received
- Departments of State received 59% of the requests, while the other monitored bodies received the remaining 41%
- 82% of requests received a substantive response within the 20 working-day limit. A further 5% of requests were subject to a public interest test extension
- 58% of “resolvable” requests – where it was possible to give a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought – were granted in full. Some 23% of resolvable requests resulted in the information being fully withheld
- 8,754 requests received during 2009 were refused, either in full or in part, where one or more exemption or exception was applied. The most commonly applied exemptions were under section 40 (personal information), section 30 (investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities) and section 44 (prohibitions on disclosure). The exemption usage differed depending on the department or monitored body
- 1,502 internal reviews were requested across all bodies in relation to information requests received in 2009, on the grounds that some or all of the requested information was withheld. This compared to 939 in the previous 12 months
- These internal reviews saw the initial handling of the request upheld fully in 75% of cases and partially in a further 15%
- 206 appeals were made to the ICO, up from 153 in 2008. Of the appeals completed at the time of monitoring, the public authority’s initial handling was fully upheld in 65% of cases and partially held in 14% of cases. The applicant’s complaint was upheld in the remaining 21%.
The increase in requests was principally felt by Departments of State, rather than the other monitored bodies. This continues an upward trend first started in 2007.
Departments of State were also “markedly more likely than other monitored bodies to have information requests appealed”, the bulletin said.
A copy of the bulletin can be downloaded here.
