Six of the Department for Infrastructure’s (DfI) 21 divisions has failed to meet statutory timeframes for responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Legally, FOIs should be responded to by public bodies within 20 working days of receiving a valid request.
This deadline is set out within the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which applies across the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Compliance is overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office, however, exceptions can apply, with extensions being granted in certain circumstances, as long as the response is not delayed considerably.
Seeking answers on the DfI’s handling of FOI requests, Upper Bann MLA, Jonathan Buckley asked the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the average time taken by her Department to complete requests, broken down by each division within her Department.
Minister Liz Kimmins replied with statistics for the calendar year 2025 and her response revealed that six of the 21 divisions was beyond the statutory timeframe.
Those divisions include A5 Western Transport Corridor & Active Travel (21.6 working days); Driving, Vehicle Safety and Road Safety Policy (21.5 working days); Finance Division (21.6 working days); Governance, EU and Facilities Management (26.3 working days); Regional Planning Governance and Legislation (21.3 working days) and Regional Planning Policy and Casework (22.4 working days).
One might expect that these divisions did not meet their timescales due to an increased number of completed requests.
However, the Road Asset Management division managed to complete an impressive 209 requests in 2025 within an average 17 working day timeframe.
The slowest performing division – Governance, EU and Facilities Management – completed just three in their average 26.3 working day timeframe.
Driving, Vehicle Safety & Road Safety Policy also completed just two inside an average 21.5 working day period.
The highest number of completed requests within the defaulting divisions was 52 in the Regional Planning Policy & Casework division.
Further to his push for the data, Mr Buckley also asked Minister Kimmins to detail any steps her Department is taking to improve their response times.
In her reply, the Minister was keen to demonstrate the rising pressures faced by her Department.
She also defended “an established process” of dealing with FOIs to “maximise” the number responded to within the 20 working day guideline.
Said Ms Kimmins: “The number of requests has increased by 32% over the last two years, and so my Department continuously reviews processes to ensure it can meet the statutory timeframes.
“This includes a weekly report to Senior Management highlighting all live requests and the dates they are due.
“A system of reminders and assistance is provided by my Department’s Information Management team, who also maintain a suite of documentation to help staff provide timely responses.
“Regular training is also provided to all staff, including detailing training for staff in receipt of a high volume of requests.”
