The following table sets out the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by my Department from 2016 to date, the number of requests that were refused, the number of requests that were partially granted and the number of requests in which a decision of the Department has been overturned by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) to date.
With regard to the reasons for the refusal of FOI requests, the processing of all FOI requests in the Department is done in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2014. That Act makes provision for access, to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy, to records in the possession of public bodies such as my Department. As the Deputy will be aware, specific exemptions are set out in the legislation and these are applied by the Department where appropriate.
Year
|
FOI Requests Received
|
Refused
|
Partially Granted
|
Decisions overturned by the OIC
|
2016
|
203
|
48
|
69
|
1
|
2017
|
249
|
48
|
95
|
0
|
2018
|
208
|
66
|
68
|
3
|
2019 (to date)
|
298
|
85
|
103
|
1
|