The key freedom of information statistics in one place — how many FOI requests the UK receives, how fast public bodies answer them, how often requests are refused, and how the Information Commissioner's Office polices the Act on appeal, with the data period stated next to every figure.

The Cabinet Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics for monitored central-government bodies. The ICO publishes separate annual totals for complaints and decision notices under the laws it regulates. The figures below distinguish initial requests, internal reviews and regulatory complaints.

Central-government monitoring covers a limited group of departments and agencies, not every public authority. ICO FOI figures cover its own jurisdiction; Scottish public authorities generally fall under separate Scottish freedom-of-information legislation and the Scottish Information Commissioner. None of these series is a single total of every request made throughout the UK.

Key facts and figures

  • 94,526 FOI requests were received by central-government monitored bodies in 2025 — the highest annual total since monitoring began in 2005, up 14% on 2024.
  • 39 central-government bodies are covered by the April–June 2026 bulletin; this excludes many other authorities subject to information-access law.
  • 87% of monitored requests were answered in time in 2025, including permitted deadline extensions, up from 76% in 2024.
  • 36% of resolvable requests were granted in full in 2025 (up from 29% in 2024).
  • 35% of resolvable requests were withheld in full and a further 21% withheld in part in 2025.
  • 4,720 internal reviews were initiated for requests withheld in 2025; 1,054 decisions were fully or partly overturned, 28% of reviews with known outcomes.
  • 10,713 FOI complaints reached the ICO in 2025/26, its highest annual total since the Act was implemented.
  • 2,027 statutory FOI decision notices were issued by the ICO in 2025/26, compared with 2,192 in 2024/25.

Checked on 15 October 2026. The latest full central-government year is 2025; the latest quarter is April–June 2026, published on 16 September. ICO casework figures refer to the financial year ending 31 March 2026. These periods and populations should not be combined.

How many FOI requests are made in the UK each year?

Central-government monitored bodies received 94,526 FOI requests in 2025 — the highest annual total since monitoring began in 2005, up 14% (an extra 11,485 requests) on 2024, according to the Cabinet Office's Freedom of Information statistics: annual 2025 bulletin, published on 30 April 2026. The Home Office saw the largest single rise (+2,382 requests), followed by the Department for Work and Pensions (+1,118).

The 94,526 total covers monitored central-government bodies only. Councils, schools, health bodies and many other authorities also receive requests but are not all included in this series. Scottish public authorities generally operate under separate legislation. A UK-wide total cannot be calculated from the monitored-body figures alone.

In the latest quarter, April–June 2026, the 39 monitored bodies received 19,628 requests, 17% fewer than the same quarter in 2025. Seasonal comparisons use the equivalent quarter a year earlier. A short-term fall does not establish a sustained national trend.

What percentage of FOI requests are refused?

In 2025, 35% of the 62,515 resolvable monitored requests were withheld in full, 21% in part and 36% granted in full; 8% were not yet processed. This definition includes refusals on cost, vexatiousness or repetition grounds. It does not mean that every resolvable request necessarily concerned information the body held.

The table compares the published annual percentages using that same definition. The share granted in full and the shares withheld both rose because the proportion not yet processed fell. Partial withholding increased from 15% to 21%; it did not shrink.

Outcome (resolvable requests)20242025
Granted in full29%36%
Withheld in full30%35%
Withheld in part15%21%

Why are requests withheld? Of the requests withheld in 2025, 26.6% hit the cost limit (the request would have cost too much staff time to answer), 2.7% were judged vexatious or repeated, and 70.7% fell under one of the Act's substantive exemptions — with Section 40, which protects the personal data of third parties, the single most commonly cited exemption (Cabinet Office annual 2025 bulletin). Section 40 is a direct data-protection provision: it exists so that answering a transparency request does not breach someone else's rights under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

How long do public bodies have to respond, and how often do they meet it?

FOIA normally requires a response promptly and no later than 20 working days. Specific extensions and variations can apply, including time to consider a public-interest test; EIR and archival-record rules also affect this statistical series. Its 87% in-time rate for 2025 includes permitted extensions, so it is not the percentage all answered within an unextended 20 days.

For April–June 2026, 87% of monitored requests were answered in time, down from 92% in the same quarter of 2025. This includes permitted extensions. Workload and the composition of requests affect aggregate rates, so the figures do not establish why individual bodies performed differently.

Can you appeal an FOI refusal, and how often does it succeed?

Internal reviews were initiated for 4,720 requests where information was withheld in 2025, about 14% of the 34,807 withheld requests. The original decision was fully or partly overturned in 1,054 cases, or 28% of reviews with a known outcome. The denominator is not all 4,720 initiated reviews, some of which remained unresolved.

Normally, request an internal review first, then complain to the ICO if still dissatisfied. The ICO received 10,713 FOI complaints and closed 8,714 cases in 2025/26. Its decisions can themselves be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, with further appeal routes on points of law, so the process does not end automatically at the ICO.

The ICO’s 2025/26 performance table records 84.4% of FOI concerns decided and responded to within six months, below its 90% target and down from 94.8% in 2024/25. Its open caseload at 31 March rose from 1,466 to 3,505. These regulator-handling times are separate from a public authority’s initial response deadline.

How many FOI decision notices does the ICO issue?

The ICO issued 2,027 statutory FOI decision notices in 2025/26, compared with 2,192 in 2024/25. A notice states whether the authority complied with the relevant law and may require remedial steps. Not every complaint ends in a decision notice, and a notice is subject to appeal.

Among the 2,027 notices served in 2025/26, 740 complaints were upheld and 919 not upheld, with the remainder partly upheld. Those outcomes concern cases reaching a notice, not all requests or all complaints. They cannot be treated as the probability that any requester will win an appeal.

These figures concern FOI and environmental-information casework in the ICO’s jurisdiction. Its data protection complaint series, including subject access matters, is separate. Requests, complaints and decision notices are different stages and must not be added as if they were independent events.

Who uses FOI, and why does it matter for data protection?

FOI is available to journalists, campaigners, researchers, businesses and members of the public; a requester generally need not explain their reason. The sources here do not establish which group uses it most. Section 40 provides exemptions for personal data, including a route for an individual’s own information to be considered under subject access rights instead.

For anyone handling public-sector information, the two regimes are two sides of the same coin. An FOI officer answering a request has to apply the same data-protection principles a data protection officer applies every day — is this personal data, whose is it, and would disclosure be lawful and fair? Getting that judgement wrong in either direction leads to a complaint: withhold too much and the requester appeals to the ICO; disclose too much and you have caused a personal data breach. Training staff to recognise where FOI meets the UK GDPR is the practical link between the two, and it is exactly the ground our guide to what counts as personal data and our guide to individual rights under GDPR cover.

Frequently asked questions

How many FOI requests are made in the UK each year?

Monitored central-government bodies received 94,526 requests in 2025, a record for that series and 14% above 2024. The latest quarterly figure was 19,628 in April–June 2026. The monitoring does not cover all public authorities or provide a complete UK national total.

What percentage of FOI requests are refused?

Of resolvable requests to central government in 2025, 35% were withheld in full and a further 21% were withheld in part, while 36% were granted in full (Cabinet Office annual 2025 bulletin). The most common reason for withholding was a substantive exemption, with Section 40 (third-party personal data) cited most often.

How long do public bodies have to respond to an FOI request?

Under FOIA the normal requirement is to respond promptly and within 20 working days, with specific extensions or variations in defined circumstances. The central-government in-time measure includes permitted extensions: it was 87% in 2025 and 87% in April–June 2026. EIR requests have their own rules.

Can you appeal an FOI refusal, and how often does the ICO side with the requester?

Usually request an internal review, then complain to the ICO if still dissatisfied. In 2025, 28% of monitored internal reviews with a known outcome overturned the original decision fully or partly. The ICO issued 2,027 FOI decision notices in 2025/26; the outcomes of that selected group are not a success rate for all requesters. Notices can be appealed to the tribunal.

Is FOI the same as a subject access request?

No. FOI gives anyone the right to recorded information held by a public authority. A subject access request is a separate right under the UK GDPR to a copy of your own personal data, from any organisation — public or private. The volumes, deadlines and failure rates for that right sit on our subject access request statistics page.

Sources & references

FOI and data protection meet every time a public body answers a request — train your team to handle personal data lawfully under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

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Mark McShane
Mark McShane
Health & Safety Training Specialist, Online CPD Academy

Mark writes about data protection, workplace compliance and accredited online training for GDPR & Data Protection Course, part of Online CPD Academy.