Freedom Of Information Act 2000

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The Act allows access to information from public authorities .

Any person making a request for information is entitled:

(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds the information ( "duty to confirm or deny") and

(b) if that is the case, to have the information communicated to him.

Exemptions may allow an agency to withhold information, most though are qualified by a public interest test. This requires authorities to disclose information unless the public interest in withholding it outweighs the public interest in its disclosure

In addition a public authority does not have to comply if the costs are too great (see below) or if the application is considered vexatious or repeated.

Information is defined (S84) as "information recorded in any form". That includes written material, photos, plans and data held on computer.

The law makes it an offence for a public authority to alter, destroy, hide or deface information once a request has been received.

Any request for information in writing, including e-mails, are subject to the Act even if they do not specifically mention it.

Once a public authority has received a request it has a duty to comply promptly and within 20 working days. The public body could be in breach of the law if the request could have been answered quickly yet the applicant was made to wait the full period.

The 20 day limit can be extended where a public authority is considering whether exempt information should be disclosed. However the authority must give the applicant an estimate of how long they need (S17 (2)).

S16 directs public authorities to provide an applicant with advice and assistance. Decisions of the Information Tribunal have made it clear that agencies have to be pro-active in giving advice.

An authority has no right to inquire about the applicant’s motivation or reasons for making a request.

Applicants have the right to see the information in one or more of three specified formats:

A copy in permanent form
A chance to inspect the record containing the information
A digest summary of the information in permanent form

The public body must try and meet your specific preferences unless it is impractical to do so, but they must inform you in writing of the reason it is impractical.

All nonexempt information must be disclosed even if it is mixed with exempt, e.g. personal information, by erasing the latter.

Public authorities are not obliged to provide information if the cost of locating, retrieving and extracting it is over £600 for central government or £450 for other public bodies.  The cost calculation has to be based on staff time at £25/hour.   If a request is going to exceed the cost limit, under the duty to provide advice and assistance public bodies should explore ways to reduce the cost with the applicant.

Printing /photocopying and postage can be charged out to the applicant.

The Information Commissioner and his office are responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Act.

The Information Tribunal hears appeals against decisions of the Information Commissioner.

If you are not happy with the response you have received from a public authority you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office but only after exhausting the authority’s complaints procedure.

The Department Of Constitutional Affairs issues a Code Of Practice on the discharge of public authorities’ functions under Part I of the Act.