Freedom of Information
Freedom of Information Act 2000 is "challenged with the task of reversing the working premise that everything is secret unless otherwise stated, to a position where everything is public unless it falls into specified excepted cases..." (Lord Chancellor's first Annual Report on the Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; November 2001)
The Freedom of Information Act was passed on 30th November 2000. It gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The Act also amends the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Public Records Act 1958.
Subject to the exemptions, any person who makes a request to a public authority for information must be informed whether the public authority holds that information. If it does, that information must be supplied, subject to certain conditions. Thus, The FOI Act gives two related rights:
- the right to be told whether the information exists
- the right to receive that information
Every public authority is required to adopt and maintain a publication scheme setting out how it intends to publish the different classes of information it holds, and whether there is a charge for the information.
Two codes of practice (section 45 and section 46) issued under the Act provide guidance to public authorities about responding to requests for information, and records management. The Act is enforced by the Information Commissioner, and was brought into force in two stages, with full implementation on January 1st 2005.
The requirement to publish and maintain a Publication Scheme was phased in during 2003 and 2004 and a New Model Publication Scheme was approved for use by all public authorities from January 2009. Individual rights of access to information came into force across all public authorities in January 2005.
P-PACT is here to help you and your organisation in the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
