Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Freedom of Information requests have been referred by his Department for advice on handling to the Cabinet Office’s clearing house for Freedom of Information requests in each year since 2016.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has referred requests to the Cabinet Office Clearing House where appropriate and in line with the published criteria which is available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-and-freedom-of-information.

The Department does not keep a central record of Freedom of Information requests referred to the Cabinet Office Clearing House. Providing this information would require examination of records of every FOI request received during this period. This information could therefore only be supplied at disproportionate cost.