FOI fees - PQs

22 Feb 2007 : Column 867W
Mr. Wills: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects to bring forward new fees regulations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [121763]

Vera Baird: The public consultation on the proposed amendments to the fee regulations closes on 8 March 2007. Only after the consultation responses have been carefully analysed and considered will the question of laying regulations before Parliament be addressed.

Mr. Wills: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects to publish the results of the current consultation on fees regulations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [121764]

Vera Baird: A summary of the responses to the consultation will be published within three months of the end of the consultation period in line with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation.

23 Feb 2007 : Column 968W
Mr. Wills: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost to Government Departments involved in the one week monitoring exercise in January 2006 of the time needed to respond to Freedom of Information requests. [121762]

Ms Harman: Frontier Economics, using the data collected in the one week monitoring exercise, estimated that the total cost in officials' time of dealing with FOI requests across central government is£8.6 million.

A detailed breakdown of the total annual cost to central Government of handling FOI requests can be found at annex 1 of the Frontier Economics report, which is available in the Libraries of the House.


27 Feb 2007 : Column 1269W
Mr. Wills: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make an estimate of the effect of the draft fees regulations proposed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on the number of parliamentary questions asked. [122649]

Vera Baird: My Department has no plans to estimate the effect of the draft FOI fees regulations on the number of parliamentary questions asked.

There is no link between requests submitted under the Freedom of Information Act and parliamentary questions. Members of Parliament will continue to be able to ask for information under both regimes.

Mr. Wills: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of Freedom of Information requests answered by the Government in 2005-06 likely to be refused under the proposals contained in the draft fees regulations under the Freedom of InformationAct 2000. [122652]

Vera Baird: My Department's estimates are based on the results of the independent review conducted by economic consultancy firm Frontier Economics, published on 16 October 2006.

Table 3 of their report estimates that including reading, consideration and consultation time in calculating the appropriate limit would result in a 4 per cent. volume reduction of requests processed within the appropriate limit across central Government.

If the aggregation of non-similar requests was introduced it would result in an 8 per cent. volume reduction of requests processed within the appropriate limit across central Government.

These figures are the estimated volume reductions for introducing each option on its own and are not additive.

Under the Act authorities are not obliged to answer a request if it is estimated to exceed the appropriate limit, but may still choose to do so. The request volume reduction figures in the Frontier Economics report are upper-band figures and assume that Government bodies apply the provisions in all cases where possible and do not exercise discretion in application.

Where authorities are refusing on the ground of cost, they are under a statutory obligation to provide advice and assistance to enable the requestor to refine their request so that it can be processed within the appropriate cost limit.

The independent review showed that a small minority of requests and requestors account for disproportionate amounts of the cost of answering FOI requests. Our proposals are designed to address this issue by targeting the 5 per cent. of requests that account for 45 per cent. of the time spent dealing with initial requests, as detailed at Figure 5 of the Frontier Economics report.

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of requests received by central Government in 2006 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were refused on the grounds of disproportionate cost; and how many and what percentage she estimates would have been refused had the fee structure changes presently proposed been in force throughout 2006. [123794]

Vera Baird: The 2006 annual statistics on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in central Government have not yet been published. The most recent statistics available are for Q1, Q2 and Q3 2006.

Central Government received 18,500 resolvable requests during Q1, Q2 and Q3 2006 of which 816 (4.4 per cent.) were refused on the grounds they exceeded the appropriate cost limit.

Table 3 of the Frontier Economics report published on 16 October 2006 estimates that including reading, consideration and consultation time in calculating the appropriate limit would result in a 4 per cent. volume reduction of requests processed within the appropriate limit across central Government. If the aggregation of non-similar requests is introduced the report estimates an 8 per cent. volume reduction of requests processed within the appropriate limit across central Government.

These figures are the estimated volume reductions for introducing each option on its own and are not additive.

Under the Act authorities are not obliged to answer a request if it is estimated to exceed the appropriate limit, but may still choose to do so.

The request volume reduction figures in the Frontier Economics report are upper-band figures and assume that government bodies apply the provisions in all cases where possible and do not exercise discretion in application.

Where authorities refuse on cost grounds they are under a statutory obligation to provide advice and assistance to enable the requestor to refine their request so that it can be processed within the appropriate cost limit.

The independent review showed that a small minority of requests and requestors account for disproportionate amounts of the cost of answering FOI requests. Our proposals are designed to address this issue by targeting the 5 per cent. of requests that account for 45 per cent. of the time spent dealing with initial requests, as detailed at figure 5 of the Frontier Economics report.

6 Mar 2007 : Column WA32
Lord Smith of Finsbury asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have made an estimate of (a) the change in the number of complaints likely to be made to the Information Commissioner as a result of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007, if implemented; and (b) the effect of those complaints on the Information Commissioner's ability to deal with the existing backlog of complaints. [HL2127]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): The partial regulatory impact assessment published on 14 December 2006 as part of the consultation on the draft Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007 recognises that in the immediate aftermath of the changes there will be an increase in the number of appeals against the application of the fee regulations leading to an increase in associated costs. It is impossible to say with any certainty how significant these costs might be. It is reasonable to assume that the increase will be confined to the immediate aftermath of the changes. The publication of detailed guidance on the new regulations, together with the provision of appropriate advice and assistance by public authorities, will reduce the impact on the Information Commissioner.

The Information Commissioner is considering the impact of the changes on his office and we will discuss this with him as part of the consultation process.

6 Mar 2007 : Column 1896W
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans she has to revise the Explanatory Notes on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) published on 8 January 2001 to take account of (a) decisions of the Information Commissioner and (b) proposals for new regulations on FOI fees; and if she will make a statement. [124651]

Vera Baird: It is not practice to amend Explanatory Notes to an Act.

Officials in my Department will continue to review and update guidance to support the Act in light of experience and changes since the Act came into force.