Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what time limits apply to consideration of proposed Freedom of Information responses by (a) the Communications Directorate and (b) special advisers; and what escalation procedure applies where clearance remains outstanding as the applicable statutory response deadline approaches.

The Home Office's Freedom of Information guidance provides that the Communications Directorate will undertake an initial review of referred cases within two working days. For cases referred to special advisers, the Central FOI Team maintains oversight of outstanding referrals and provides a daily list of those cases approaching their statutory deadline. Where a case is approaching its statutory deadline, outstanding cases may be escalated with the Communications Directorate or, in the case of Special Adviser referrals, through the Central FOI Team.