FOI reference - FOI-75
Date - 12 January 2023
Request
You have requested the following information:
I was wondering if you might be able to point me in the right direction to any published data on the performance/compliance of The Pensions Regulator with FOI requests. This would be information on the total number of requests this and last year, number of requests that received a response within 20 days, number of refused requests (and under what grounds), number of requests for review (and performance data on those as well).
Response
I can confirm that we hold information the information you have requested.
Information we are able to supply
I was wondering if you might be able to point me in the right direction to any published data on the performance/compliance of The Pensions Regulator with FOI requests
TPR publishes details of the number of freedom of information (FOI) requests we have received in our annual Better Regulation report, which can be found on our website.
This information can be found under the heading: ‘Education communications and promotion’. For the period the report covers (17 December 2021 to December 2022) this confirms: “TPR received and processed... 69 freedom of information requests.”
I have also compiled the following unpublished information which TPR holds and is disclosable in relation to your request for information.
Total number of FOI requests received by TPR this and last year
In the financial year to date (5 April 2022 to 4 April 2023) TPR has received 65 FOI requests.
In the previous financial year (5 April 2021 to 4 April 2022) TPR received 88 FOI requests.
Number of FOI requests that received a response from TPR within 20 days
In the financial year to date (April 2022 to April 2023) TPR has responded to all FOI requests we have received within 20 working days.
In the previous financial year (April 2021 to April 2022) TPR responded to 80 FOI requests within 20 working days. The reasons for eight FOI requests were issued outside of the 20 working day timescale were the following:
- Five FOI responses – extensions of time were requested due to their complex nature.
- One FOI response – request for clarification made, which was received two weeks later.
- Two FOI responses – there was a one day delay in these responses being issued.
Number of refused FOI requests (and under what grounds)
In the financial year to date (April 2022 to April 2023) TPR has not refused any FOI requests, for example due to a request exceeding our costs limit or considering a request to be vexatious.
During the previous financial year (April 2021 to April 2022) we refused one FOI request under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the basis that public authorities are not obliged to comply with a request for information where the cost of complying would exceed the appropriate limit in the Fees Regulations.
Number of requests for review (and performance data on those as well)
In the financial year to date (April 2022 to April 2023) TPR received one request for an internal review of an FOI request, which was not upheld. No FOI requests have been escalated to the Information Commissioner’s Office for review during the current financial year.
In the previous financial year (April 2021 to April 2022) TPR received six requests for internal reviews of FOI requests, none of which were upheld. No FOI requests were escalated to the Information Commissioner’s Office for review during the previous financial year.