Request
I wanted to ask for data, between 2019 and 2022 on
1. Number of FOI requests received each year
2. Number of FOI requests labelled/defined as ‘vexatious’ each year
3. Copies of the requests that were defined as vexatious
Outcome
Some information provided
Response
1. Number of FOI requests received each year
The Cabinet Office regularly publishes data, both quarterly and annually, on the number of FOI requests received, as well as specific FOI exemptions engaged, by The National Archives and other monitored bodies. This information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics#2022
We have outlined the number of FOI requests received each year below:
2019 – 3,832
2020 – 2,243
2021 – 3,391
2022 – 7,983*
* In February 2021 the Ministry of Defence began the transfer of historic service personnel records to The National Archives. There are approximately 9.7 million records which will be transferred over the next 6 years. Having transferred nearly half of this collection already (approx. 4.5 million records) this has resulted in more than a two-fold increase in the volume of requests received by The National Archives over 2022, compared to 2021.
2. Number of FOI requests labelled/defined as ‘vexatious’ each year
We can confirm that between 2019 and 2022, The National Archives did not apply section 14 [Vexatious requests] of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to any FOI requests received. You can view the total requests defined as ‘vexatious’ by monitored bodies under column D of tab 11 [refusals] of the annual statistical table for 2021-22 and tab 8 [refusals] for 2019-20.
3. Copies of the requests that were defined as vexatious
N/A
Explanatory annexe
Exemptions applied
Section 21: Information readily available to the applicant by other means
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) does not oblige a public authority to provide information if it is already reasonably accessible by other means.
In this case the exemption applies because the information is already available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi-eir-and-access-to-information/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/section-21-information-accessible-to-the-applicant-by-other-means/