Annual Report: 2003-2004

Status report on access requests in a deemed-refusal situation

l. BACKGROUND

For several years, a number of institutions were subject to review because of evidence of chronic difficulty in meeting response deadlines. In his 1996-97 Annual Report to Parliament, the former information commissioner reported that delays in responding to access requests had reached crisis proportions.

As a result, the Information Commissioner has adopted the following standard as being the best measure of a department's compliance with response deadlines: percentage of requests received which end as deemed refusals. Every department reviewed has been assessed against the following grading standard:

2. COMPLIANCE HISTORY

In January 1999, the Office of the Information Commissioner issued the first Report Card on the Department of National Defence's (ND) compliance with the statutory time requirements of the Access to Information Act. In that report, ND received a red alert grade of "F", with a 69.6% request to deemed-refusal ratio for access requests received from April 1 to November 30, 1998. The report included a number of recommendations on measures that could be taken to reduce the number of requests in a deemed-refusal situation.

From April 1 to November 30, 1999, the deemed-refusal ratio for access requests improved to 38.9%, although still a grade of "F".

In January 2001, ND received a grade of "D" with a new request to deemed-refusal ratio of 17% for the period April 1 to November 30, 2000. This report noted that the trend lines for reducing the number of access requests in a deemed-refusal situation were steadily improving.

ND continued to improve its performance in meeting the time requirements of the Act, achieving a grade of "C" with a new request to deemed-refusal ratio of 11.8% for the period from April 1 to November 30, 2001. However, that improvement was not maintained for the full fiscal year; while the grade remained the same at a "C", the ratio of 12.7% declined slightly.

For the 2002-2003 reporting period, the department attained a new request to deemed-refusal ratio of 9.1% for a grade of "B", with this ratio slipping to a 12.7% ratio and a grade of "C" for the full fiscal year.

3. CURRENT STATUS

The department continues to strive to attain an ideal compliance ratio in the deemed-refusal situation. While the department has maintained a grade of "B", the actual percentage has improved for this reporting period. The new request to deemed-refusal ratio improved to 6.3% for the period from April 1 to November 30, 2003, in comparison to 9.1% of a year ago. This is representative of the efforts by ND to reduce as much as possible the number of requests in a deemed-refusal situation especially in light of an ever-increasing number of requests and resulting number of records to be processed. The following charts reflect the last three years statistics in that regard.

Although this gives an accurate assessment of the deemed-refusal ratio to requests received within the above-noted reporting period, it does not take into account those requests carried over from the previous year, nor the number of requests already in a deemed-refusal status on April 1. In future reports, these figures will be taken into consideration; however, for this report, the grading resulting from that inclusion is provided for information purposes only. In this instance, the results for April 1 to November 30, 2003, would be 9.1%, still resulting in a grade of "B".

While a review was conducted on the root cause of delays, the primary focus at the onset of the year was to clear up the backlog of overdue responses. This was a conscious decision with knowledge that this action may result in a large number of deemed refusals for this year. In addition to cleaning up the backlog, better control of ongoing cases resulted as well in fewer deemed refusals. Additionally no overtime was utilized in achieving this objective.

The focus on the backlog, while contributing to the improved performance, was not the singular factor. Better management through enhanced sharing of responsibilities with the Deputy Coordinator/Chief of Operations was a significant influence. Better utilization of the management tools available and a better understanding of their capabilities proved invaluable, specifically ATIPflow and its reporting mechanisms.

Another factor was an increase in training and development both of ATIP staff and employees of ND and CF members. This occurred both in-house and off-site. One limiting factor in off-site training in the past was the expense to bases/units. To improve the opportunity and knowledge, the ATIP Directorate has absorbed the training costs, and this has resulted in increased audiences, better communications with outside units and reduced response times for requested records.

Stable staffing resources has enhanced the dynamics of the division. Team building activities, including social events, have shown to be a valuable tool in improving morale and overall performance in meeting time constraints.

A reduction on the use of contract employees/consultants has allowed for the addition of three positions. While this has had a short-term impact on the overall level of expertise, it is felt to provide tremendous long-term benefits.

While all of these factors have combined to create a more efficient productive workplace as well as responsive department, the one factor that was felt to have contributed most significantly was the utilization of ATIPimage in the process. Processing time, material costs, as well as records analysis, have been positively influenced by this application.

An increase in the number of informal requests, over 322 to date, has been a workload factor, and improvements in the handling of these have not interfered with the overall situation. Again, technological enhancements have contributed significantly to timely and cost-effective response. Reducing the reliance on hard copies by putting the requested records on CD has reduced paper requirements, time spent at photocopiers, and postage costs, all part of the concept of working smarter.

4. OBJECTIVES FOR 2004-2005 AND FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

The department continues to review its structure, tools and procedures to support the reduction of access requests in a deemed-refusal situation and achieve ideal compliance with the time requirements of the Access to Information Act. Closer management of cases is anticipated with better utilization of consultations and appropriate extensions. While there are no major changes planned for the next two years, the overall process is under constant review, including the development of performance standards.

ND is encouraged to continue its efforts in attaining a grade of "A" and set an objective for 2004-2005 of reaching a request to deemed-refusal ratio of 5% or less.

4.1 Informal Access

ND continues to expand its use of the website to provide access to released records and other releasable material in a proactive manner and continues to identify and analyze situations where records may be provided as a matter of routine rather than through a request under the Access to Information Act. The department is encouraged to continue its review to provide greater access to clients through informal procedures without recourse to the formal access process under the Act.

5. STATUS OF 2003 RECOMMENDATIONS

In the January 2003 Status Report, recommendations were made to ND to set the objective to maintain ideal compliance with the time requirements of the Act. The action taken on each recommendation is described below, following the text of the recommendation.

Action taken: While the complete target has not been attained, ND has improved its deemed-refusal to requests received ratio by three percentage points, which indicates positive efforts being made to achieve ideal compliance.

Action Taken: All aspects of the ATIP Directorate’s operation were reviewed with a view to improving timeframe compliance. Staffing to fill resources, delegation of managerial responsibilities, focus on clearing up the backlog of requests, as well as many of the measures already mentioned, all contributed significantly to allowing the institution to improve its record with this reporting period. The linear information/review process was also looked at for streamlining; however, any post-review functions were not felt to have a significant impact on the overall timeframe of responses. The upper level reviews are time sensitive, with a hard 48-hour turnaround, and are for information purposes only.

EXCERPT FROM DEPUTY MINISTER’S RESPONSE TO STATUS REPORT

"I am very pleased with the maintenance of the grade of B and the recognition that we have decreased our deemed refusal rate by 3%.

As you noted in your report, DND has made some significant effort to comply with the deadlines legislated by the Act. We will continue to work toward continuous improvement in our performance, with the goal of 5% or less deemed refusals.

You also recommended that we continue investigation of methods for improving formal access to information to the public. We are actively working to expand our scope of informal access and expect to have a work plan in place by the end of the 2004/2005 fiscal year."