FOI 72708
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 72708
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 14th April 2021. Please find below the response to your request:
Please could you provide the following information under FOI processes:
- How many staff does your Police service employ who process FOI requests as part of their work.
- For each member of staff for question 1, please could you specify:
a.Their grade
- The number of hours per week they are employed.
- The percentage of time per week roughly they spend administrating FOI requests as part of their role if less than 100% of their role.
- The number of emails sent in the past year. (In ‘Sent Items’ sent emails can be selected, then pressing the return key will produce a message asking ‘Do you really wish to open ## number of emails?’ ## will be the number of emails for that period. Selecting the ‘No’ button will then close the message without opening the messages.)
- The numbers of FOIs received per month between March 2020 and present.
- The numbers of FOIs responded to within the 20 working day deadline.
- What proportion of FOI requests received since March 2020 are classified as commercial/corporate requests? (That is to say, companies submitting FOI requests for commercial information.)
- Does your service use any specialist software to manage FOI processing?
- Do you publish your FOI responses online, or if not do you have any intention to?
The purpose of these questions is to build a picture of FOI demand on Police services around the UK.
Reply:-
Please be advised that the information that you have requested is not available in a readily retrievable format. The information regarding Q2 (d) and Q5 are not held centrally or in an electronically retrievable format.
Therefore the cost of providing you with the information is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this part of the request and if one part of a request exceeds the fees limit then S12 of the Act applies to the whole request.
However, In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request and can provide the information requested for the questions remaining as this was retrieved during our initial research. This should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fees legislation for any subsequent requests.
- How many staff does your Police service employ who process FOI requests as part of their work.
5 FTE Decision Makers and 1 FTE Administrator are employed directly to process FOI requests. A number of other staff across West Mercia Police are involved in retrieval of information for FOI requests but it is not possible to quantify this as it covers all business areas.
- For each member of staff for question 1, please could you specify:
a.their grade
Decision Makers – Grade E. Administrator – Grade B
- The number of hours per week they are employed.
Each post is employed for 37 hours a week.
- The percentage of time per week roughly they spend administrating FOI requests as part of their role if less than 100% of their role.
No specific recorded information held. Staff process subject access requests and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority matters in addition to FOI.
- The number of emails sent in the past year. (In ‘Sent Items’ sent emails can be selected, then pressing the return key will produce a message asking ‘Do you really wish to open ## number of emails?’ ## will be the number of emails for that period. Selecting the ‘No’ button will then close the message without opening the messages.)
Exempt s12.
- The numbers of FOIs received per month between March 2020 and present.
Figures available from April 2020 - March 2021:
|
2020-21 FOI Requests |
|
|
Month |
Total |
|
April |
62 |
|
May |
76 |
|
June |
88 |
|
July |
85 |
|
August |
70 |
|
September |
81 |
|
October |
87 |
|
November |
99 |
|
December |
81 |
|
January |
109 |
|
February |
88 |
|
March |
130 |
- The numbers of FOIs responded to within the 20 working day deadline.
Figures are from April 2020 – March 2021: Apr 7 | May 44 | Jun 77 | Jul 43 | Aug 43 | Sep 46 | Oct 49 | Nov 49 | Dec 42 | Jan 44 | Feb 38 | Mar 41.
- What proportion of FOI requests received since March 2020 are classified as commercial/corporate requests? (That is to say, companies submitting FOI requests for commercial information.)
Exempt s12.
- Does your service use any specialist software to manage FOI processing?
Case management system employed.
- Do you publish your FOI responses online, or if not do you have any intention to?
Yes.