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Freedom of Information Act

Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to speed up responses to Freedom of Information Act inquiries made to Government Departments. [45904]

Ms Harman: In the third quarter of 2005 Departments of State responded to Freedom of Information requests within their statutory obligations in an average of 86 per cent. of cases. This figure reflects an increase of 11 per cent. on performance in the second quarter of last year, which in itself had improved significantly on performance in the first quarter.

However, there is still work to be done and DCA continues to work with departments to improve performance. In particular each Department of State has a dedicated liaison point within DCA to address specific performance issues. The Information Rights Practitioners Conference also provides a regular forum in which officials across Whitehall can share best practice and raise any specific issues with experts both from my Department and elsewhere in Government.

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment she has made of the extent to which local authorities are complying with the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if she will make a statement. [47216]

Ms Harman: The Department for Constitutional Affairs does not directly monitor Freedom of Information Act compliance in local government in order to avoid imposing an administrative burden. However, independent surveys and reports in the regional press indicate that FOI is working well in local government, and a great deal of new information is being released to local communities.

Compliance with the Act is regulated by the independent Information Commissioner, who has statutory powers of investigation.

HM Court Service

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on the proposal put forward by HM Court Service to merge the three local justice areas of Chorley, Ormskirk and South Ribble. [48103]

Ms Harman: The proposed alteration of the Chorley, Ormskirk and South Ribble Local Justice Areas is presently subject to the formal consultation procedures contained in section 8 of the Courts Act, 2003. The consultation period expires on 3 February 2006 and the Area Director for HMCS, Lancashire will consider the
 
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responses, prepare a summary of same and determine whether to submit a formal proposal to the Lord Chancellor. The outcome of this process will be published in due course.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what costings have been carried out by HM Court Service in relation to the proposals to merge the three local justice areas of Chorley, Ormskirk and South Ribble. [48104]

Ms Harman: No detailed costings have been carried out regarding the proposal, which is predicated on the need to improve the service afforded to court users and the provision of an equal opportunity for all magistrates in the South West Lancashire area to carry out a fair share of the work of the courts in that area. The proposal does not involve any capital expenditure and the likely impact on revenue expenditure is expected to be cost neutral.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on how the principle of local magistrates sitting on local courts will be sustained under the proposals to merge the proposed merger of the three local justice areas of Chorley, Ormskirk and South Ribble. [48105]

Ms Harman: The consultation paper seeks views on the proposal to combine the local justice areas referred to above and it is expected that, if the proposal goes ahead, local magistrates will be based at a local courthouse in which matters affecting the local community are likely to be heard and will sit there for the majority of their time. It seeks to assure consultees that no courthouse closures are planned. Existing magistrates will be invited and any new magistrates appointed to the combined area will be expected to sit elsewhere in the South West Lancashire area from their base court, subject to the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, to enable the development of a more responsive and flexible service to the communities that the courts serve.

Information Commissioner

Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what meetings she has held with the Information Commissioner in the last 12 months; what issues were discussed at these meetings; and if she will make a statement. [45905]

Ms Harman: The Information Commissioner is an independent body created by statute. He has responsibilities for handling complaints made to him under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998. I have had no

meetings with the Commissioner. However my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor meets regularly with the Information Commissioner to discuss issues of mutual interest, covering both Freedom of Information and Data Protection. At some of these meeting he is accompanied by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Baroness Ashton. Baroness Ashton has also met the Information Commissioner separately to discuss issues of both Freedom of Information and Data Protection.

These issue have included such matters as the implementation and operation of Freedom of Information in its first full year, the promotion of public understanding
 
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of Freedom of Information and Data Protection, the promotion of best practice among authorities subject to the Acts, and the Commissioner's report on his work in 2004–05 and his plans for his office in 2005–06 and 2006–07.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints the Information Commissioner has received about the time taken by his office to handle cases. [47533]

Ms Harman: The Information Commissioner is an independent body created by statute with responsibility for handling complaints made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Commissioner's Office has not routinely maintained statistics relating to complaints about the length of time it has taken to handle cases. Any complaints received are treated in accordance with the Information Commissioner's policy in complaints. This policy has recently been updated and from 1 February 2006, the office has maintained a database of information about complaints received which include the reason for the complaint.

Since the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act, the Commissioner has also received 17 FOI requests relating to the time taken to close cases.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeals have been received by the Information Commissioner's officer against refusals to release information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and how many of these appeals have (a) been upheld, (b) been rejected and (c) yet to be determined. [47534]

Ms Harman: The Information Commissioner's Office receives appeals under the Freedom of Information Act and the related Environmental Information Regulations on a range of matters and not only refusals to release information including complaints about failure to comply with time limits.

Not all complaints result in a formal decision by the Commissioner. Many are resolved informally, withdrawn or remitted to the public authority. The total number of Freedom of Information Act complaints outstanding on 31 December 2005 was 1,325.

Of the 1,060 cases closed during 2005, 135 have resulted in formal Decision notices being issued by the Commissioner. In 70 cases the complaint was upheld, in 44 cases the complaint was not upheld and in 21 cases the complaint was partially upheld.

Paul Flynn: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many complaints the Information Commissioner is dealing with; and what the average amount of time taken to deal with such a complaint was in the last period for which figures are available. [47803]

Ms Harman: The Information Commissioner's Office is an independent body created by statute with responsibility for handling complaints made to him under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.
 
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The total number of Freedom of Information complaints outstanding on 31 December 2005 was 1,325, with 1,060 cases closed. The number of Data Protection Act complaints outstanding on the same date was 2,477.

The average time taken from receipt to closure for all cases closed during 2005 was 95 days. 48.1 per cent. of cases were closed within 60 working days of receipt. The ICO target is to close 50 per cent. of cases within 60 working days.

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