Policy paper

FCDO response to the Information Commissioner's (ICO's) practice recommendations for Freedom of Information requests (FOIs)

Published 31 May 2024

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

In setting these recommendations the Commissioner recognises that the FCDO is in the process of implementing a number of improvements to its information request handling processes. The Commissioner has therefore designed the following recommendations to ‘support and enhance’ the FCDO’s plans.

In the 6 months previously, the FCDO has undertaken a full review of its FOI handling process and since the Practice Recommendations were posted, has carefully considered all of the ICO’s specific recommendations and has completed the ICO’s own ‘toolkit evaluation’.    

We are fully aware of our obligations under the FOIA and we are working hard to improve our response rates. The changes we have implemented have already started to deliver improvements, and as the other actions deliver benefit over the next 6 to 12 months, we anticipate more substantive movement towards the 90% on time responses.

In response to the specific recommendations the FCDO has:

ICO recommendation 1

In relation to parts 1, 4 and 10 of the Code, the FCDO must ensure it has appropriate procedures in place to effectively and efficiently access official records. This is necessary to meet its obligations and respond fully, accurately and appropriately to information requests. The FCDO should ensure that searches for all information falling within the scope of a request are conducted as quickly as possible and that staff who need to access such information in order to process the request are able to do so without any delays.

The FCDO recognises the need to improve the timeliness of searches at the start of the FOI process.

We have:

1. Updated and publicised our guidance on FOIs and our obligations under the Act within the FCDO
2. Engaged communications channels across the FCDO at all levels with senior endorsement, reminding all staff of their obligations under the Act.

We will (over the next 6 months):

1. Enforce a stricter time limit with information holders, ensuring they search for and retrieve information as quickly as possible.
2. We will hold a series of monthly workshops across the FCDO open to all staff with the aim of addressing the issues identified by the ICO.
3. Continue to review storage and retention policies to ensure material is held properly in an accessible manner.

ICO recommendation 2

The FCDO should ensure that staff are sufficiently trained and aware of its procedures and practices in order to provide responses that fully comply with FOIA and the section 45 Code of Practice. The FCDO should undertake a self-assessment via the ICO’s online Toolkit, in particular Topic 1, modules 2 and 3 request handling and training. The FCDO should implement any changes required following the outcome of the self-assessment.

Self-assessment toolkit results

We have completed the ICO’s self-assessment toolkit and are considering the recommendations.

1. Against the various assessment sections, we scored: 6 Unsatisfactory, 3 Adequate, and 8 Good.
2. The findings support the other recommendations the ICO has made: Timeliness, cultural of understanding of FOIs within the wider FCDO and use of the PIT process are all considered currently unsatisfactory.
3. The FCDO did score well on our application of the permitted exemptions under the Act.
4. We will address the issues outlined by the self-assessment and rerun the process in 6 months’ time.

ICO recommendation 3

The FCDO should ensure that requests for information are responded to in a timely manner. When chased to issue responses by the Commissioner’s Case Officers, the FCDO should respond in a timely and appropriate manner.’ When chased to issue responses by the Commissioner’s Case Officers, the FCDO should respond in a timely and appropriate manner. This will avoid unnecessary decision notices and the subsequent further delays for the requesters.

We have:

1. Updated and publicised our guidance on FOIs and our obligations under the Act across the wider FCDO.
2. Engaged communications channels across the FCDO at all levels with senior endorsement, reminding all staff of their obligations under the Act.
3. Standardised our FOI processes across the FCDO eliminating a number of legacy processes from pre-merger.

We will (over the next 6 months):

1. Enforce a stricter time limit with information holders, ensuring they are fully aware of the obligations under the FOIA for a timely response.
2. Tighten IRUs management oversight to ensure our response times to ICO enquiries improves.

ICO recommendation 4

The FCDO’s request handling procedures should include provision for when a response is late, or is likely to be late, at any stage of the internal processes. Specifically, that it is clear when and who to escalate to; who is responsible for taking action; the action they will need to take; and by when. As part of this the FCDO should consider the Commissioner’s guidance on keeping internal consultations timely and transparent.

We have:

1. Improved the resources and information available to information holders, including a simplified process map and instructions. Reminding staff of the time allocated to each stage of the FOI process.
2. Introduced new procedures to identify blockages in the clearance process with key departments.

We will (within the next 2 months):

1. Ensure each information holding area has a dedicated official responsible for FOI distribution within their area and a senior point of contact in the Directors Office for all FOI requests to be escalated to.
2. Enforce the time allowed at each stage of the process, based on a clear and well publicised process map.

ICO recommendation 5

PIT (Public Interest Test) use. The FCDO must ensure that its information rights training is sufficient to ensure that it has adequate coverage in place in order that request handling times do not fall below a compliant level in the event of the departure of key staff members.

We have:

1. Created new guidance for information holding departments to ensure they understand when and how PIT may be applied.
2. Ensured all information rights staff undertake refresher training on the correct use of PIT and how and when it should be applied.

We will:

1. Ensure stricter management oversight in the information rights team to enforce this training is applied.

ICO recommendation 6

The FCDO should ensure that it has adequate levels of resource within its Information Rights Unit (IRU) team to ensure that FOI requests, and internal reviews, are processed in a timely manner. The FCDO should also ensure that staff within its various departments responsible for request handling are also aware of the importance of processing requests in a timely manner. The FCDO must ensure that its information rights training is sufficient to ensure that it has adequate coverage in place in order that request handling times do not fall below a compliant level in the event of the departure of key staff members.

We have:

1. Recognised the resource intensive and often complicated nature of our Historical FOI requests. From the start of June 2024, we have increased resource to this team.
2. Enforced a stricter time limit with information holders, ensuring they are fully aware of the obligations under the FOIA for a timely response.
3. Reorganised the information rights team and put more resource into front line FOI responses.
4. We have implemented a number of other efficiency processes aimed at boosting turnaround times.

We will (over the next 6 to 12 months)

1. Hold a series of ‘teach ins’ and presentations to upskill staff across the FCDO.
2. Explore further technological processes and innovations to improve efficiency.

ICO recommendation 7

The FCDO should provide the Commissioner with a quarterly update (beginning on 31 May 2024) detailing: 

Any completed requests that were subject to the PIT extension under section 17(3) of FOIA that were answered more than 40 working days after the request was submitted; and any open requests subject to the PIT extension over 40 working days old.

It should also publish these updates on its website alongside the Action Plan recommended above so that there is transparency about the progress it is making to improve its performance.

The FCDO had 3 cases subject to a PIT extension under Section 17(3) of FOIA that were answered more than 40 working days after the request was submitted between January and March 2024.

As of March 2024, the total number of FOI requests subject to a PIT extension over 40 working days is 28.

ICO recommendation 8

The FCDO should ensure that internal reviews are carried out, and the outcome communicated to the requester, in a timely manner, and in line with both the Code and the Commissioner’s guidance. In order to ensure that this happens consistently, the FCDO should refresh its procedures for carrying out internal reviews and ensure that these are effective and robust.

We have:

1. Reviewed our IR procedures and have reallocated resource to this area of information rights work.

We will:

1. Ensure all requesters are updated on a regular basis.
2. Look to establish an Internal Review and Tribunal Team when resources allow.

ICO recommendations for sections 2.1 and 2.2

We will continue to focus resources both on improving our on-time performance rates and dealing with our older cases. We anticipate that the process outlined above will continue improvement from 6 months onwards.

We are aware of the need to administer the use of PIT extensions appropriately and will ensure all staff are fully aware of the correct procedures and ensure that requesters are kept fully informed.

IRs will continue to be a priority and the introduction of new processes and procedures will reduce the number of IRs generated as we improve FOI response times.