Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason only 55.4 per cent of FOI requests received by his Department in the first quarter of 2019 were met within the 20-day deadline.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) the 20 working day deadline for response to requests for information may be extended in order to consider the balance of public interest regarding disclosure of held information.

In 2018, 82% of requests received by the Department were answered within the statutory 20-day deadline or with a permitted extension. In the first quarter of 2019, 68% of requests were answered within the 20-day deadline or with a permitted extension.

The complexity and diverse nature of the Department means that individual requests may require the involvement of more than one area of the Department and/or consultation with key stakeholders. Regrettably this can sometimes lead to delays in the Department’s ability to providing a timely response.

The Department remains committed to improving the number of requests answered within the statutory deadline and is working closely with officials across the Department.