Freedom of Information Performance Report 2023-24
Perth and Kinross Council · 18 September 2024
Back to Scrutiny and Performance Committee — 18 September 2024 and its agenda
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Perth And Kinross Council Scrutiny and Performance Committee 18 September 2024 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PERFORMANCE REPORT 2023-24 Strategic Lead - Legal and Governance Services (Report No. 24/258) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report provides assurance as to the performance of the Council in relation to its obligations under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIR) for the year 2023-24. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: i. Considers the content of this report and provides constructive comment and feedback ii. Notes that performance has continued to improve, against a background of organisational change iii. Notes that a new case management system has been introduced to manage information request handling iv. Notes that responses to FOI requests are now published in a Disclosure Log v. Notes that the number of requests for review remain a very small percentage of requests received, indicating good levels of customer satisfaction in terms of the quality of responses and the effectiveness of the process. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Executive Summary • Section 5: Background/Main Issues • Section 5: Conclusion 4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4.1 1594 requests for information were received during 2023-24: an increase of 1.3% on the preceding year.
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4.2 The Council’s internal target for responding to FOI requests within statutory timescales is 95%. In 2023-24, 97% of requests were responded to on time. This represents a 4% improvement in performance against what was achieved during 2022-23. 4.3 The number of requests for review represent 1.5% (compared to 2% of requests received in 2022/23) of the total number of requests received, which indicates good levels of customer satisfaction in terms of the quality of the Council’s responses and the effectiveness of our process. 4.4 A new case management system for managing information requests was introduced in August 2023. 4.5 The case management system which is now used has enabled the publication of responses to Freedom of Information requests in a Disclosure Log, improving the transparency and accountability of the Council. 4.6 Changes to the Council’s organisational structure, along with the implementation of the new case management system has meant that there have been substantial changes to internal processes for handling requests for information. 5 BACKGROUND/MAIN ISSUES Performance 5.1 During 2023-24, the Council received 1594 requests for information under FOISA. This is an increase of 1.3% on the number of requests received during 2022-23. Number of Requests 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 Number of Requests 1682 1569 1188 1365 1573 1594 0 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Figure 1 – Number of requests for information under FOISA/EIRs
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5.2 Of the 1594 requests received • 28 were subsequently closed when no clarification was received from the requestor • 9 were withdrawn by the applicant • Responses were therefore issued to 1557 requests. 5.3 Of the 1594 requests received, 467 were processed under the EIRs 5.4 Due to the introduction of a new case management system for recording and processing information requests in August 2023, it is not possible to provide comparative statistics with previous years for all applicant types due to differences in categorisation. The following table illustrates the categories of requestors and the number of requests received during 2023-24 FOI Requests 2023 -24 Applicant Type Number Individual 682 Media 223 Political 228 Organisation 135 Commercial 191 Solicitor 34 Research 33 Pressure Group 61 Public Sector 7 Total 1594 Figure 2 - Requestor categories 2023-24 5.5 Analysis of the requests received shows that the highest single group making requests are members of the general public, who made 682 requests (43% of those received). 5.6 During 2023-24, 228 (or 14%) of the requests received were from Elected Representatives; a similar trend to 2022-23 when there were 232 requests (or 15%). 5.7 2023-24 saw 223 (or 14%) of requests received coming from the media; a 21% increase on last years figures (185 requests). Performance Monitoring 5.8 The Council’s target for responding to requests within statutory timescales is 95%. During 2023-24, 97% of requests were completed within timescales.
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5.9 This represents a 4% improvement in the Council’s compliance, which has been achieved against a background of substantial alterations in the Council’s structure, accompanying Council-wide changes in internal processes for handling FOI requests and the introduction of a new case management system to handle information requests. 5.10 Of the 1557 valid requests for information processed by the Council during 2023-24: - • 505 (32%) requests were satisfied in full (all the information requested was held by the Council and could be released without redaction of e.g. personal information) • 608 (39%) requests were satisfied in part • 443 (29%) requests resulted in no information being issued. 5.11 Where information was not provided to requestors, 22 requests were refused completely or in part on the grounds of excessive cost, as permitted by the legislation. 5.12 In almost all other cases where no information was issued, this was because either the Council did not hold the information, it was publicly available (in which case the requestor is directed to where it can be obtained), its release was considered to be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs or it consisted of personal information which cannot be released under Freedom of Information legislation. Reviews and Appeals 5.13 The Council received 24 requests to review its decision (complaints about the original response to FOI requests received during 2023-24), which represents less than 1% of the total requests received. A breakdown of the relevant review data is contained in Figure 3: - Vexatious or withdrawn Review requests No. processed within 20 working days Original decision upheld Decision overturned 20 10 Total no. processed 30 Review Requests Figure 3 – Summary of request for reviews
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5.14 All requests for review were responded to within the statutory 20 working days deadline. 5.15 During 2023-24, one appeal was made to the Scottish Information Commissioner, following a review carried out by the Council during 2022-23. The applicant withdrew their appeal before a decision was issued by the Commissioner. There are currently no appeals under investigation by the Scottish Information Commissioner. 6. CONCLUSION 6.1 The number of requests in 2023-24 increased by 1.3% from the preceding year. 6.2 The Council’s performance in responding to information requests within statutory timescales improved by 4% to 97% during 2023-24, against a backdrop of significant organisational, system and process change. 6.3 The Information Rights team has successfully implemented a specialised case management system which has enabled the publication of responses to FOI requests, ensuring greater openness and transparency. 6.4 The number of requests for review remain a very small percentage of the total number information requests received, which would indicate good levels of customer satisfaction in terms of the quality the Council’s responses and the effectiveness of our process. 6.5 The number of appeals to the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner remains extremely low, with only one, subsequently withdrawn, appeal being made during 2023-24. 6.6 The Committee can therefore take assurance that our process for handling requests under the Freedom of Information legislation of robust and effective.
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Author(s) Name Designation Contact Details Jillian Walker Information Rights Manager/Data Protection Officer DPO@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date Lisa Simpson Strategic Lead Legal & Governance Services 3 September 2024 Clare Mailer Director (Strategy, People & Resources) 3 September 2024
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement n/a Corporate Plan n/a Resource Implications n/a Financial n/a Workforce n/a Asset Management (land, property, IST) n/a Assessments n/a Equality Impact Assessment n/a Strategic Environmental Assessment n/a Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) n/a Legal and Governance n/a Risk n/a Consultation n/a Internal n/a External n/a Communication n/a Communications Plan n/a 1. Strategic Implications Not applicable. 2. Resource Implications Not applicable. 3. Assessments • Equality Impact Assessment – not applicable • Strategic Environmental Assessment – not applicable • Sustainability – not applicable • Legal and Governance – not applicable • Risk – not applicable 4. Consultation Not applicable. 5. Communication Not applicable.
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2. BACKGROUND PAPERS None. 3. APPENDICES None.