Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of administering the Freedom of Information regime in 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15.

The Freedom of Information Act applies to 100,000 public authorities and therefore its total cost is not recorded.

However, in evidence submitted by the Government to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee in 2012, it was estimated that the staff cost of replying to an FOI requesting central government was £184 and an internal review £179. Based on these calculations, and allowing for average pay awards, the estimated staff cost for central government requests and internal reviews was £9,600,000 in 2012, £10,100,000 in 2013, and £9,300,000 in 2014; and £4,600,000 for initial requests in January - June 2015. Information for the numbers of internal reviews handled in 2015 is not yet available.