Increased Number of Freedom of Information Requests at Guildford Borough Council

Published on: 15 Jan, 2019
Updated on: 16 Jan, 2019

By Rebecca Curley

Local Democracy Reporter

More and more people have been digging for information in Guildford as figures for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests rise by 8%.

And the council is getting better at dealing with the submissions, according to a report.

Guildford Borough Council received 750 FOI or EIR (Environmental Information Regulations) requests in 2018 – a rise from 694 the year before.

Out of the 750 submitted between January 1 and December 7, 93% were closed within the 20 working day statutory time frame – that’s a small increase of 1.5% from 2017 when the council’s performance was recorded as 91.5%.

The most requests were put to the Community Services department who received 251 submissions for information. They deal with services such as pest control, noise and air pollution, housing, help for older people and unauthorised encampments.

But the planning and regeneration directorate had the best performance by answering 100% of their 78 requests on time.

The management team was the poorest at replying with only 90% of the 53 requests they received being answered in time.

According to the council’s Freedom of Information Compliance Annual Report 2018, which will be considered by councillors on the corporate, governance and standard committee on Thursday, January 17, the majority of FOI requests were made by private companies and other councils.

A total 277 (37%) were submitted by this group, classified as other and which also includes professional bodies, with members of the public coming just behind with 274 requests.

Media accounted for 14% and campaign groups for 2% of requests.

The Freedom of Information Act, 2000, provides public access to information held by public authorities. Members of the public are entitled to request the information and the authorities are obliged to publish certain data.

There are exemptions to the records that can be provided.

How to make a Freedom of Information request:

• Contact the authority you wish to ask for information – they may have a particular form to fill in
• Make the request in writing
• Provide your name and address
• Keep your request clear and specific. The larger the time frame the harder it is for the information to be collected.

Share This Post