Information on the impact of Covid-19 on FOI responsiveness.
Details
22 June 2022
Dear
ATISN 16387
Thank you for your request which I received on 9 June 2022. It is important to note that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives individuals a right of access to recorded information held by a public authority at the time the request was received. It does not require an authority such as the Welsh Government to provide views or opinions where those views are not already recorded. This is confirmed by the Information Commissioner’s guidance ‘The Guide to Freedom of Information’, page 7:
“The Act does not cover information that is in someone’s head. If a member of the public asks for information, you only have to provide information you already have in recorded form. You do not have to create new information or find the answer to a question from staff who may happen to know it.”
Also, public authorities are statutorily required to respond to freedom of information requests within 20 working days. However, an extension of a further 20 working days can be legitimately applied whenever the authority is considering the balance of public interest where a relevant exemption has been engaged. As your request seeks information on request responses within specific dates, requests where the 20 working day deadline has been legitimately extended have not been identified. Such information is, however, set out in Welsh Government’s annual reports on the implementation of open government legislation and policies.
Open government reports | GOV.WALES
With this in mind, your questions and our responses are set out below:
1. For the period 16th March – 17th July 2020 (i.e., when ICO had indicated a sympathetic approach to delay), provide precise data if available e.g., 15 out of 30 requests, and if not, provide an estimate e.g., 10%, for these questions:
(a) How many responses to FOI requests were issued within 20 working days of receipt by your organisation?
215 (out of 274 valid requests).
(b) How many responses to FOI review requests were issued within 20 working days of receipt of the request for an internal review?
10 (out of 14 internal reviews).
(c) How many responses to FOI requests were issued within 21 and 60 working days of receipt by your organisation?
53 (out of 274 valid requests).
(d) How many responses to FOI review requests were issued within 21 and 60 working days of receipt of the request for an internal review?
2 (out of 14 internal reviews).
2. For the period 18th July – 8th October 2020 (i.e., during the ‘preparing for recovery’ phase), provide precise data if available e.g., 15 out of 30 requests, and if not, provide an estimate e.g., 10%, for these questions:
(a) How many responses to FOI requests were issued within 20 working days of receipt by your organisation?
186 (of 228 valid requests).
(b) How many responses to FOI review requests were issued within 20 working days of receipt of the request for an internal review?
11 (out of 13 internal reviews).
(c) How many responses to FOI requests were issued within 21 and 60 working days of receipt by your organisation?
39 (out of 228 valid requests).
(d) How many responses to FOI review requests were issued within 21 and 60 working days of receipt of the request for an internal review?
2 (out of 13 internal reviews).
3. During the period 1st March to 30th October 2020, provide precise data if available e.g., 15 out of 30 requests, and if not, provide an estimate e.g., 10%, for these questions:
(a) How many responses to FOI requests were issued more than 60 working days after receipt of the request?
16 (out of 625 valid requests).
(b) How many responses to FOI review requests were issued more than 60 working days after receipt of a request for an internal review?
2 (out of 33 internal reviews).
4. When FOI request or review responses were issued more than 21 working days after receipt during the period 1st March and 30th October 2020, what were the main reasons for the delay? E.g., closure of premises due to Covid-19, reallocation of resources due to Covid-19, staff shortages due to Covid-19, absence of key staff due to Covid-19, limited access to necessary systems due to Covid-19, other issue related/unrelated to Covid19.
Welsh Government does not hold recorded information that would answer this question.
5. In relation to the FOI requests received by your organisation between 1st March and 30th October 2020, what proportion related directly to Covid-19, your organisation’s Covid-19 response or impact of the pandemic on your organisation? (Provide precise data if available e.g., 15 out of 30 requests, and if not, provide an estimate e.g., 10%).
Between 1 March 2020 and 30 October 2020 received 625 valid requests. Of these, 141 related to “Covid”, “virus”, “pandemic” or “SARS” – 18.24%
6. On 17th July 2020 the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched a self-assessment Freedom of Information toolkit (FOI self-assessment toolkit | ICO) to help public authorities respond to FOI requests as they prepared to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Does, or has your organisation ever, use/d the toolkit? If so, please explain whether it has it had any positive outcomes. If your organisation has not/does not make use of the toolkit, please explain why not.
Welsh Government does not hold recorded information that would answer this question.
7. In response to Covid19, has the volume of information your organisation publishes:
- not changed
- significantly increased
- significantly decreased
- don’t know
Whilst not recognising this as a valid request for recorded information, Welsh Government does not hold recorded information that would answer this question. However, I can confirm that the pandemic has naturally resulted in Welsh Government publishing more information than usual as, alongside our normal work, we have published large amounts of information and guidance on Covid19. Much of this is set out below.
8. Has your organisation taken steps to proactively publish information relating to
Covid 19, your organisation's Covid-19 response or the impact of the pandemic on your organisation? If it includes a dedicated webpage, a link to the webpage.
Welsh Government has published information relating to Covid 19 here:
Websites:
Coronafeirws (COVID-19)
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Twitter:
Our Welsh Government Health and Social Services account:
Llywodraeth Cymru Iechyd a Gofal
Welsh Government Health and Social Care
Prif Swyddog Meddygol Cymru | Chief Medical Officer for Wales:
The Central Comms team have used their channels as well:
Welsh Government Twitter:
Welsh Government
Llywodraeth Cymru
Welsh Government Facebook:
Welsh Government
llywodraethcymru
If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response. Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at:
Information Rights Unit
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ
or e-mail: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales
Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.
Yours sincerely