Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank
I see the Home Office are late replying to requests under FOI...
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/reques...mation_about_r
To be fair it looks like the original request did not state that it was made referencing the freedom of information act, so the HO may be able to get away with it!
Hank |
Hmm, my understanding of the FOI Act 2000 is that it is a
statutory requirement to respond to requests for information within 20 days. It does not matter if the initial enquiry mentioned FOI; it is encumbent upon the recipient to consider if an FOI process is appropriate and in this case it clearly was/is. For absolute clarity,
statutory means it is the
law that they comply. Oh dear
.
The Act states:
Time for compliance with request
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a public authority must comply with section 1(1) promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt.
The subsections qualify the compliance rules but the information requested should be readily available so delay seems unnecessary.