What is the Freedom of Information Act 2000?
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. The right to request information came into force on 1 January 2005. The purpose of the Act is to promote greater openness by public authorities. It will allow anyone, no matter who or where they are, to find out whether information is held, and if it is, to have access to it.
Freedom of Information publication scheme
From 31 October 2003 every public authority covered by the FOI Act 2000 will have produced a publication scheme. Our publication scheme is available to you on this site.
Related Information Rights Data Protection Act (DP) 1998
Individuals already have the right to access personal information held about themselves under the Data Protection Act 1998.
The Data Protection Act does not give third parties rights of access to personal information about individuals still living.
The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 1992
Public authorities are obliged to provide information to requests about the environment. This can include information about air, noise, radiation, waste, water etc.
How does the Act work?
Since 1 January 2005 every public authority is required to provide information requested by the public (*subject to exemptions). There will be a 20 working day deadline to respond or explain why the information is either not available or is exempt from the Act. All kinds of information may be requested, for example, emails, spreadsheets, paper files and word documents etc.
The FOI Act stipulates that all requests must be received in writing. A request form is available on the website and throughout the Trust. Only if the information is not already available should a request form be completed. Written requests will be logged into the system and progress will be tracked so that each one is responded to within the 20- working day deadline.
*Exemptions to Freedom of Information
There are some exemptions to the Act which include; information accessible by other means; court records; personal information about the applicant or in some circumstances a third party; security bodies. An information request relating to a living individual who can be identified from the data is exempt from FOI as the Data Protection Act protects these types of requests. Decisions on whether exemptions apply will be determined by the Freedom of Information lead.
