Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff in his Department are responsible for (a) processing and (b) responding to Freedom of Information Act requests; and if he will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of this work.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not track the costs or total staff numbers required to respond to Freedom of Information (FOIs) as the work is devolved across the department and depends on the complexity and sensitivities involved in each individual request. FOI requests submitted to the FCDO, are handled by officers from the relevant department depending on the: issue, policy or country the request relates to, with input and professional advice concerning the application of the FOI Act from the FOI team within IRU (Information Rights Unit).

As such it is not possible to give an accurate number of staff working on FOIs or the total costs involved. Complex cases may also involve legal counsel from both within and without the department with associated costs.

The FOI team in the IRU consists of 22 staff and deals with FOIs, Internal Reviews, ICO complaints and Tribunals.