Hertfordshire County Council is dealing with "more complex" requests for information because of artificial intelligence (AI), according to data provided to members.

Officers have 20 working days to provide a full response to a request made under Freedom of Information legislation.

But according to data compiled for the latest meeting of the council's resources and performance cabinet panel, in the last three months of last year (2025), this was being achieved in just 71% of cases.

This is lower than in the previous three-month period, from July to September.

And commentary included as part of the report highlights the number and complexity of requests, as well as the use of AI.

"There has been an increase in the number and complexity of FOI requests resulting in capacity constraints, " says the report.

"Requests are more complex as AI is used; this makes requests more wide-ranging and difficult to respond to."

According to the data, in the last three months of 2025, the county council received close to 600 requests under FOI legislation.

Download our Nub News App!

- It’s FREE and available now
- Breaking news notifications
- Your Town in Your Pocket

In the previous three-month period (between July and September) graphs suggest that the figure had been closer to 400.

The data is included as part of a performance report on the county council's resources directorate in the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, running between October and December.

And it will be presented to a meeting of the council's resources and performance cabinet panel on Wednesday (April 15).