FOI requests, SARs, and complaints received and answered 2017 to 2019

You asked

I would like to make a Freedom of Information request for the following pieces of information:

1) How many Freedom of Information (FOI) requests were received in the following calendar years

• 2017

• 2018

• 2019

Of these requests, what % were responded to within regulatory deadlines

Is a case management system or other software service to manage these requests? If so please state which software / system is used.

2) How many Subject Access Requests (SARs) or other requests under GDPR/Data Protection legislation were received in the following calendar years

• 2017

• 2018

• 2019

Of these requests, what % were responded to within regulatory deadlines

Is a case management system or other software service to manage these requests? If so please state which software / system is used.

3) How many written (letter, email, webform submission) Complaints and other enquiries were received in the following calendar years

• 2017

• 2018

• 2019

Is a case management system or other software service to manage these requests? If so please state which software / system is used.

If not all information is available please do treat each request separately.

We said

Thank you for your request.

Freedom of Information requests

Our Freedom of Information request statistics are published on the Cabinet Office website, accessible via the following link: Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information Statistics.

The deadline for FOI requests to be answered is statutory.

We use a SharePoint application to process Freedom of Information requests.

Subject Access Requests

Of the requests that were late all but 2 were completed within 2 weeks of the required date, and in all cases we were in contact with the requesters advising them of the reasons for the delay and the expected response dates.

The deadline for SARs to be answered is statutory.

We use a SharePoint application to process subject access requests.

Complaints

A centralised logging system was set up in 2020 to log complaints received by our Complaints Manager email address. However, please note that business areas also process their own complaints, which are not tracked centrally.

Prior to March 2020, we were not tracking the number of complaints received. We therefore do not hold the requested figures for complaints for 2017, 2018, and 2019. However, we are able to provide those logged centrally in 2020.

We use a SharePoint application to process central complaints.