Official Statistics

Freedom of Information Statistics: development plan December 2023

Updated 24 April 2024

Quarterly and annual statistics on the Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) in central government have been published since the FOIA came into force. Responsibility for the production of these statistics transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Cabinet Office in October 2015.

Cabinet Office are committed to the ongoing review and improvement of Freedom of Information statistics, to ensure that they are of the highest quality and public value. As part of this commitment, Cabinet Office will publish ongoing development plans, setting out intended areas for improvement. Freedom of Information statistics are accredited official statistics and are called National Statistics in the Statistic and Registration Service Act 2007.

Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:

• managed impartially and objectively in the public interest
• meet identified user needs
• produced according to sound methods
• well explained and readily accessible

These statistics were independently reviewed by the OSR in June 2017. See Assessment Report 328 Freedom of Information Statistics - implementation in Central Government.

1. Communication with data supply partners

1.1 What we have done

• Following the Machinery of Government Changes (MOG) announced by the PM on 7 February 2023, we consulted with the affected FOI data suppliers and agreed an implementation date for Q3 2023 for the reporting of FOI statistics under the new structures.

• Released a questionnaire for all FOI data suppliers to allow us to develop a clear understanding of the departmental processes involved in the production of FOI statistics.

• As requested in supplier feedback we considered setting up an email list for notifications of the publication of the FOI statistics. After gauging interest from departments, this will not be implemented due to the majority being content with current levels and methods of communication in terms of publication notification.

• Circulated terms of reference for a data supplier forum in order to come to consensus on the topics to be addressed and areas of interest.

• Held a Data Supplier Forum to promote closer communication, resource pooling and good-practice sharing between departmental data suppliers.

• Received feedback from the Data Supplier Forum that will help shape our statistics going forward.

1.2 What we will do

• Continue updating guidance on how to use the Cabinet Office FOI statistics data collection template for suppliers, as appropriate. (Ongoing)

• Consider the range of feedback received through the data supplier forum and how to take forward the issues raised, working closely with suppliers as appropriate. (Ongoing)

• Start planning for the next forum. (Ongoing)

2. User engagement

2.1 What we have done

• Review feedback on an ongoing basis and publish feedback and associated actions in a FOI statistical work programme.

• Survey known users for feedback on the changes made to the annual bulletin incorporating previous feedback in order to identify future areas for development.

• Based on user feedback we have introduced new measures for ‘outcomes’ to ensure that the ‘outcomes’ continue to provide an accurate reflection of FOI performance across government.

• Based on user feedback we have changed our approach to reporting complaints to the ICO and how we present these statistics.

2.2 What we will do

• Continue to consult with users and stakeholders on the recording of PIT extensions and ICO appeals. (Ongoing)

3. Narrative and public value

3.1 What we have done

• Updated the data tables to meet the GSS accessibility guidance – updated formatting document structure and file type (xlsx to ods).

• Converted the Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) document to HTML format.

3.2 What we will do

• Review feedback on the updates to the format of the annual and quarterly bulletin in order to

identify areas for improvement. (Ongoing)

• Explore options for interactive presentation of data using formats such as Tableau and D3 in order to enhance the usability of the data. (Ongoing)

• Maintain the FOI statistics QMI document and update it as appropriate.

• Continue to review and improve our approach to the presentation of data tables for the quarterly and annual statistics.

• Continue to publish bulletins and accompanying documents in HTML format.