The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published Good Practice Notes on the time limits for replying to a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and for carrying out an internal review following a complaint about a public authority's response to a request for information. In both cases, the ICO has recommended that a public authority should aim to respond within 20 working days and that in exceptional circumstances (for example, where the request concerns exceptionally complex public-interest considerations), the maximum time taken may be up to 40 working days.

Source: ICO Good Practice Notes, Time limits on considering the public interest and Time limits for carrying out internal reviews, 22 February 2007.