I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 170 together.
My Department received 227 requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 from 1 January 2017 to 1 December 2017. Of these, 142 requests were fully or partially granted, with 25 being refused. The remainder of the requests include requests that are not yet due for answer, have been withdrawn by the requester and requests where the period of consideration has been suspended for the payment of deposits, third party consultation or clarification of scope.
Of the 227 Freedom of Information requests received up to 1 December 2017, 185 have been closed, of which:
- 147 were completed within the due date; and
- 38 were completed outside the due date.