ESSEX Police has been praised for improving its response to freedom of information requests.

The force was being monitored in the information commissioner’s office after consistently missing FOI deadlines of 20 days.

Graham Smith, director of FOIs said: “We are pleased Essex Police has risen to the challenge after being placed on our FOI monitoring list.

“The monitoring exercise should be seen as a wake-up call to authorities.

“This organisation should be proud of the changes it has made to make sure requests are responded to in a timely fashion and we expect these improvements to continue.”