Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the average period of time is for the Information Commissioner to decide whether to assign an Freedom of Information Internal Review request for investigation; and what is the average amount of time for any subsequent investigation and assessment to be take.

The ICO is dealing with an increase of over 30 percent in FOI cases submitted to them since April 2025. The ICO will continue to look at ways they can prioritise FOI casework and resources to ensure that case numbers can be adequately managed. Data on FOI complaints handling is available on the ICO’s website.