Policy for FOIs Number of requests, time to answer, Priory of requests
Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,
Could you supply information on the following
1 Number of FOI requests in the year June 2018 to June 2019
2 Number answered in
(a) =<20 working days legal time frame
(b) =< 40 working days
(c) >40 working days
3 When requests are received what is the policy on the order they are answered in, is there a set hierarchy in respect of answering.
Yours faithfully,
Ricci Coulter
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
6th September 2019
Dear Mr. Coulter,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
I write in connection with your request for information dated 5th
September 2019 which was received by the Police Service of Northern
Ireland (PSNI) on 5th September 2019. I note you seek access to the
following information:
FOI Requests June 2018 - June 2019
This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. A response should be sent to you within 20 working
days however I would like to advise you that PSNI are currently
experiencing a delay in the processing of requests and we aim to respond
to your request as soon as possible.
If your request is unclear and clarification is required the 20 day
legislative time limit dictated by the Freedom of Information Act 2000
will be stopped until we receive clarification of your request. The ICO
guidance at paragraph 40 of the link below sets out that the clock begins
anew the day after the clarification is received. It states
“If the requester subsequently provides enough detail to enable the
authority to identify and locate the information, then the authority must
respond to the clarified request within a new 20 working day time limit
with the ‘clock’ starting the day after it receives the required
clarification. “
The link for this is:
[1]https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
In the event where the cost of complying with the request would exceed the
“appropriate level”, which is fixed at £450, as stated in the Freedom of
Information Regulations 2004, it is the policy of the PSNI to close the
request. You will however be notified of this decision and given an
opportunity to refine and resubmit the request.
If your request requires either full or partial transference to another
public authority in order to answer your query, again, you will be
notified.
If you have any queries regarding your request please write or contact the
Corporate Information Branch on 028 9070 0164. Please remember to quote
the reference number listed above in any future communications with the
Corporate Information Branch.
If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you
have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as
possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this
letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can
do so by writing to the Head of Corporate Information Branch, PSNI
Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing
[email address].
If following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision
maker, you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the
request you may make a complaint, under Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act, to the Information Commissioner’s Office and ask that
they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner
at Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information
Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review
procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to
investigate the matter at his discretion.
Yours sincerely,
P addy
FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
References
Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisatio...
Dear Police Service of Northern Ireland,
I refer you to the FOI above. This is now over 20 working days since it was submitted. As this request refers only to information held by your department can I have an explaination for the delay.
Yours faithfully,
Ricci Coulter
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately, the PSNI is currently experiencing a delay in processing Freedom of Information and Data Protection requests and we are advising requesters of this delay in our initial acknowledgement email.
The Freedom of Information and Data Protection Unit is dealing with a high volume of requests. I can assure you that all our requests are being progressed as quickly as possible and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience this has caused you.
Regards
Paddy
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Subject: FOI-2019-02258
29th October 2019
Dear Mr. Coulter,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
I write in connection with your request for information dated 5th
September 2019 which was received by the Police Service of Northern
Ireland on 5th September 2019 concerning:
FOI Requests June 2018 - June 2019
Please find attached response to your request. Please also accept my
apologies for the lateness in responding to your request.
Yours sincerely
Sean
FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
This e-mail has been marked OFFICIAL [PUBLIC];
Subject: FOI-2019-02258
29th October 2019
Dear Mr. Coulter,
FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000
Please disregard my previous response and find attached my response to
your request. I omitted to add some small details in relation to request
1.
Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Yours sincerely,
Sean
FOI Decision Maker
Corporate Information Branch
PSNI HQ Brooklyn
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