As regular readers of this blog will have noticed, I sometimes ask Natural England for information under the Freedom of Information Act regulations. They reply, sometimes with responses that I think are rather inadequate. But I have mentioned here before, and I’ve had this chat with others at times too, that NE tend to respond on the last possible date (or the day before the last possible date) and sometimes that is simply to say they need another 20 days to figure out what to say to me.
Having had that conversation recently, I thought I ought to check whether my recollection and impression were correct. They are – see the table below
| ref no | date acknowledged | 20 days end | date of response | date of response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2168 | 13 Sept | 2 October | 19 September | |
| 2412 | 12 March | 8 April | 8 April | |
| 2681 | 2 October | 30 October | 30 October | |
| 2715 | 23 October | 19 November | 19 November | |
| 3002 | 22 June | 21 July | 20 July | |
| 3112 | 1 September | 28 September | 23 September | |
| 3141 | 2 October | 30 October | 29 October extended to 27 November | 22 December |
| 3563 | 14 August | 14 September | 14 September | |
| 3572 | 26 August | 21 September | 21 September extended to 21 October | 21 October |
| 3667 | 24 October | 18 November | 17 November | |
| 3929 | 10 July | 9 August | 9 August | |
| 3968 | 16 August | 14 September | 11 September | |
| 4027 | 2 October | 27 October | 20 October extended to 24 November | 23 November |
| 4028 | 2 October | 27 October | 20 October | |
| 4030 | 2 October | 25 October | 24 October | |
| 4095 | 22 November | 20 December | 15 December | |
| 4171 | 22 February | 22 March | 22 March | |
| 4185 | 13 March | 11 April | 6 April extended to 10 May | 9 May |
| 4195 | 5 February | 5 March | 12 February | |
| 4251 | 15 May | 12 June | 11 June | |
| 4327 | 6 August | 4 September | 21 August | |
| 4328 | 6 August | 4 September | 4 September | |
| 4329 | 6 August | 4 September | 16 August | |
| 4330 | 6 August | 4 September | 3 September | |
| 4331 | 6 August | 4 September | 16 August |
This table includes FOI requests that I have made and a few that others have made where they have sent me the details. The reference numbers are those used by NE in correspondence. I’ve included the date of acknowledgement because that will help me keep track of things in my inbox but, I have to say, NE usually acknowledges information requests very speedily – no complaints there – often on the day of submission The critical date is the date at the end of 20 days when NE should have responded or provided a good explanation of why they haven’t responded.
If you have requested information from NE about environmental issues then please consider sending me details of your experience that I could use to populate this table to build an even bigger picture. I simply need the reference number, the date on which your request was acknowledged and the date given in that acknowledgement by which NE ‘promised’ to respond, and then the date on which they actually responded. In some cases the response is to say that they will take more time.
The advice I have received is that NE is not fulfilling the requirements of the regulations and I intend to send NE this table and ask them some questions about their compliance, and lack of compliance, with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.