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FOI Processing Costs and Stats 2020/21 to 2022/23

Reference: 23-24516

Date response sent: 11/03/2024

Details of enquiry

For the last 3 tax year’s (23/22, 22/21, 21/20) please provide the total cost of:

  1. Total number of staff hired with responsibility for freedom of information requests, (full time equivalent) .
  2. Total salary costs for staff with responsibility for freedom of information requests.
  3. Total for all other costs associated with handling freedom of information requests.
  4. Total number of freedom of information requests received, and total number responded with the requested information

Response sent

  1. Total number of staff hired with responsibility for freedom of information requests, (full time equivalent).

We do not hold this data as a total number and have explained below why it cannot be calculated.

We have set out below the whole time equivalent (WTE) number of staff working in the Trust’s FOI team.

a) For each of the three years you have requested, the staffing of the Trust’s corporate FOI Team has varied:

2020/21         2.0 WTE staff in FOI team

2021/22         2.0 WTE staff in FOI team

2022/23         1.0 WTE staff in FOI team April to June

0.6 WTE staff in FOI team June to March,

FOI team supported by an external consultancy as part of their wider Information Governance advisory remit.

b) the bulk of the FOI response, is typically performed by FOI Champions throughout the Trust, extracting relevant data from computerized systems within clinical settings and/or corporate functions, and their time, alongside their normal daily work, is neither measured nor allocated as part of a whole time equivalent (WTE), and is entirely driven by demand.

c) The FOI team, whose members are counted in FTE terms below, are responsible for managing the end-to-end FOI response process, from initial receipt to dispatching response, ensuring timely and accurate data is provided, and that any withheld information is cited and explained by FOIA section number.

  1. Total salary costs for staff with responsibility for freedom of information requests.

The Trust does not divulge salaries of individual staff members below Director level, so we have provided Agenda for Change NHS banding and payscales for the FOI Team.

2020/21   2.0 WTE staff in FOI team

  1. 0.4 WTE IG and FOI Officer, Band 5
  2. 0.6 WTE FOI Officer, Band 5
  • 1.0 WTE Asst Director………Band 8c

2021/22   2.0 WTE staff in FOI team

  1. 0.4 WTE IG and FOI Officer, Band 5
  2. 0.6 WTE FOI Officer, Band 5

2022/23   April to June 1.0 WTE staff in FOI team

  1. June to March 0.6 WTE staff in FOI team Band 5,
  2. FOI team supported by an external consultancy as part of their wider Information Governance advisory remit.

NHS Agenda for Change Annual Payscales can be accessed here for each of the three years in question.

Annual pay scales 2020/21 | NHS Employers

Annual pay scales 2021/22 | NHS Employers

Pay scales for 2022/23 | NHS Employers

  1. Total for all other costs associated with handling freedom of information requests.

Not applicable.

Other than adding the usual 20% employment costs for each FOI team member, any duties performed for responses to FOI requests are treated as part of the incumbent’s normal responsibilities and therefore no additional remuneration is paid.

Any additional expenses incurred would be funded from the wider Information Governance budget (eg staff training), and not recorded as discrete FOI costs.

  1. Total number of freedom of information requests received, and total number responded with the requested information

The Trust confirms that all requests received were answered either by providing all the requested information, or otherwise engaging and explaining a valid exemption under FOIA.

Financial Year

(April to March)

 FOI Requests Received & Answered FOI Responses where data was withheld

(exemptions engaged)
2020/20 268 16
2021/22 315 11
2022/23 483 10

 

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