Freedom of Information statistics (FOI)Freedom of Information statistics (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by States of Jersey and published on
27 October 2016.Request
A
Does the Freedom of Information unit collate any statistics about the volume of FOIs and the speed at which they are responded to?
B
If so, can you publish them?
C
Can you show in table form on a monthly basis going back to the beginning of the FOI regime:
a) The number of FOI requests received,
b) The average time taken to respond to an FOI request,
c) The percentage or number of FOIs which were responded to on time.
D
What is the longest length of time it’s taken to respond to an FOI?
E
How many people work in the Freedom of Information unit and has this changed since the unit was established and is it likely to change in the planned future?
F
Does the Freedom of Information unit have sufficient resources to fulfil its function?
Response
A
Yes, the Central Freedom of Information Unit collects monthly statistics. The information collected includes the volume of requests received, a breakdown by responding department, the length of time taken to respond to requests and whether any exemptions were applied.
B
Information about the number of requests received and the topics requested is published on the States of Jersey website at:
Freedom of Information data and statistics
This information is updated on a monthly basis.
It is intended that the regular publication of Freedom of Information statistics (including average response time) will be available in an accessible form through the States of Jersey Open Data site from the final quarter of 2016.
C
The tables below show the statistics collected from 1 January 2015 to 31 August 2016. These provide the information requested together with the additional information of the number of extensions that have been requested on response times.
Under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, the responding authority is able to request extensions to the 20 working day response time when it is necessary to do so.
| | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
Requests received | 94 | 62 | 80 | 48 | 47 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 47 | 53 | 55 | 51 |
|---|
Average response time (days) | 17 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 9 |
|---|
| FOI requests responded to within 20 working days | 69 | 40 | 59 | 33 | 34 | 43 | 37 | 41 | 37 | 33 | 44 | 18 |
|---|
Extensions requested | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
|---|
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
|---|
Requests received | 58 | 64 | 65 | 55 | 66 | 70 | 70 | 66 |
|---|
Average response time (days) | 7 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 12 |
|---|
| FOI requests responded to within 20 working days | 43 | 35 | 29 | 31 | 36 | 37 | 49 | 39 |
|---|
Extensions requested | - | 5 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
|---|
D
117 working days.
E
There are currently two part-time members of staff in the Central Freedom of Information Unit. This has changed since the unit was first created, as at that time the unit compromised of staff implementing the law and responding to applicants, and others involved in records management. As to the future staffing requirements of the function, they remain under review and may result in changes, should this be appropriate and within available resources.
A previous response containing information about the staffing of the unit, which may be useful, can be found at:
Time and money spent on answering Freedom of Information requests (FOI)
F
The Central Freedom of Information Unit has sufficient available resources to undertake its required functions.
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