FOI responses - Disclosure Log 4095513

Summary

The requester sought the total cost and number of Freedom of Information responses provided by the Department of Infrastructure for the financial years 2021/22 to 2024/25. The authority confirmed that the previously disclosed costs for the Information Governance team apply to the whole department and provided a table of case numbers processed annually.

Key Facts

• The Department of Infrastructure stated that the Information Governance and Data Protection Team's costs represent the total cost for the public authority regarding FOI requests.
• The full year budget for the Information Governance and Data Protection Team for the 2024/2025 financial year is £114,150.
• The number of FOI cases processed increased from 136 in 2021 to 183 in 2023, with 90 cases processed in 2024 to date.
• The authority does not hold specific figures separating FOI costs from other duties within the team's overall budget.
• The response was issued on 23 September 2024 under reference number 4127106.

Data Disclosed

• £95,056
• £59,641
• £43,670
• £114,150
• 2021/22
• 2022/23
• 2023/24
• 2024/25
• 136
• 144
• 183
• 90
• 2024-09-17
• 2024-09-23
• 4127106
• 4095513

Original Request

I note from the public authority's Response in the Disclosure Log in respect of Case ID 4095513 that in respect of this request for information - "Can you confirm the cost of providing FoI responses to requesters for the past three financial years, please?" that "Jessie" has stated - "The Department of Infrastructure's Information Governance and Data Protection team are responsible for overseeing the co-ordination of Freedom of Information requests,alongside their other duties which includes all aspects of Information Governance,GDPR, Data Subject Access Requests, information security and compliance etc. The costs for the Department of Infrastructure's Information Governance and Data Protection team for the last three years are below: Cost 2021/22 Financial Year 2022/23 Financial Year 2023/24 Financial Year £95,056 £59,641 £43,670 We do not hold specific figures as to how much it costs to provide FOI responses as this is accounted for in the sub-divisions overall budget, and we do not hold information in relation to the costs from other areas of the Department when searching and dealing with FOI requests." Since the Request cited above was made to the public authority, i.e. the Department for Infrastructure and not to any sub-division of the public authority, please let me have - (a) the total cost to the public authority of providing FOI Responses made by it in the three financial years 2021/2022, 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and in the financial year 2024 to date; and (b) the number of Responses made by the public authority in the periods referred to.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 4127106 23 September 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 17 September 2024, which states:

"I note from the public authority's Response in the Disclosure Log in respect of Case ID 4095513 that in respect of this request for information -

"Can you confirm the cost of providing FoI responses to requesters for the past three

financial years, please?"

that "Jessie" has stated -

"The Department of Infrastructure's Information Governance and Data Protection team

are responsible for overseeing the co-ordination of Freedom of Information requests,

alongside their other duties which includes all aspects of Information Governance,

GDPR, Data Subject Access Requests, information security and compliance etc.

The costs for the Department of Infrastructure's Information Governance and Data

Protection team for the last three years are below:

Cost

2021/22 Financial Year £95,056

2022/23 Financial Year £59,641

2023/24 Financial Year £43,670

We do not hold specific figures as to how much it costs to provide FOI responses as
this is accounted for in the sub-divisions overall budget, and we do not hold
information in relation to the costs from other areas of the Department when
searching and dealing with FOI requests."

Since the Request cited above was made to the public authority, i.e. the Department for Infrastructure and not to any sub-division of the public authority, please let me have -

(a) the total cost to the public authority of providing FOI Responses made by it in the three financial years 2021/2022, 2022/2023, 2023/2024 and in the financial year 2024 to date; and

(b) the number of Responses made by the public authority in the periods referred to.”

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

a) The total cost to the Department of Infrastructure for the financial years 2021/2022, 2022/2023, and 2023/2024 have already been published as you have cited in your request for information. The Information Governance and Data Protection Team is a part of the Department of Infrastructure, therefore, the information previously supplied is applicable to the Department as a public authority in relation to its processing of FOI requests.

The full year budget for the Information Governance and Data Protection Team for the 2024/2025 financial year is £114,150.

b) Please see the table below for the number of cases to date processed by the Department of Infrastructure:

Year Cases Processed 2021 136 2022 144 2023 183 2024 90

Please quote the reference number 4127106 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.