Written question WQ90609
- Asked by
- Andrew RT DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- First Minister
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 12 days
Question
What is the average time taken to respond to FOI requests, broke down by department, over each of the last three years?
Answer
Answered by First Minister (Mark Drakeford)
The information for the calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023 are provided in the tables below. Please note:
The statistics relate to the handling of requests for recorded information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA2018) / UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
The FOIA and EIRs both require public bodies to normally respond to written requests for information within 20 working days of receipt, with limited exceptions. The FOIA allows for a reasonable extension to the 20 working day deadline when considering a public interest tested exemption and the EIRs allow for an extension of a maximum of a further 20 working days if the request is complex and voluminous. This means that some requests that took over 20 working days to respond would still have been responded to within the statutory deadline.
Requests Received in 2021:
Group
Average Time Taken (working days)
Education & Public Services Group
17.2 days
Economy, Skills & Natural Resources Group
18.9 days
Health & Social Services Group
15.2 days
Office of the First Minister
19.6 days
Permanent Secretary’s Group
19.7 days
Not formally assigned*
18.8 days
Note: *These requests did not fall under any specific group area and were dealt with centrally by the Information Rights Unit.
Requests Received in 2022: (Note there was an organisational change in April 2022):
Group (pre-organisational change)
Average Time Taken (working days)
Education & Public Services Group
15.9 days
Economy, Skills & Natural Resources Group
14.7 days
Health & Social Services Group
13.5 days
Office of the First Minister Group
15.2 days
Permanent Secretary’s Group
16.7 days
Not formally assigned*
10.8 days
Note: *These requests did not fall under any specific group area and were dealt with centrally by the Information Rights Unit.
Group (post-organisational change)
Average Time Taken (working days)
Climate Change & Rural Affairs Group
20.6 days
Chief Operating Officer Group
16.7 days
Covid Recovery & Local Government Group
10.8 days
Education, Social Justice & Welsh Language Group
18.5 days
Economy, Treasury & Constitution Group
19.7 days
Health & Social Services Group
12.9 days
Office of the First Minister Group
19.3 days
Permanent Secretary’s Group
21.4 days
Requests Received in 2023:
Group
Average Time Taken (working days)
Climate Change & Rural Affairs Group
16.4 days
Chief Operating Officer Group
18.0 days
Covid Recovery & Local Government Group
12.0 days
Education, Social Justice & Welsh Language Group
18.3 days
Economy, Treasury & Constitution Group
16.9 days
Health & Social Services Group
13.6 days
Office of the First Minister Group
19.9 days
Permanent Secretary’s Group
13.0 days