The Freedom of Information Act 2000

This lesson covers the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) as required by OCR J277 Section 1.6. This act gives the public the right to access information held by public authorities, promoting transparency and accountability.

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What Is the Freedom of Information Act?

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives any person the right to request information from public authorities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (Scotland has its own similar act). The act promotes transparency by making public bodies accountable for the information they hold.

The act came fully into force on 1 January 2005.

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Who Does It Apply To?

The FOIA applies to public authorities, which include:

Category	Examples
Government	Central government departments, local councils
Education	Schools, colleges, universities
Health	NHS trusts, hospitals, GP surgeries
Police and emergency services	Police forces, fire services
Public bodies	The BBC, the Bank of England, the Environment Agency

The act does not apply to private companies, individuals, or charities (unless they carry out public functions).

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How Does It Work?

Making a Request

Any person can submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to a public authority:

1. The request must be in writing (letter or email).
2. The requester must provide their name and a contact address.
3. The request must describe the information wanted.
4. The requester does not need to explain why they want the information.

The Public Authority Must:

Obligation	Detail
Confirm or deny	State whether the information is held
Respond within 20 working days	Provide the information or explain why it cannot be released
Provide advice	Help requesters frame their requests
Publish information proactively	Maintain a publication scheme with commonly requested information

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Exemptions

Not all information must be released. The FOIA includes exemptions where information can be withheld:

Absolute Exemptions (always apply):

Exemption	Reason
Information accessible by other means	Already publicly available
Security matters	Information supplied by or relating to security bodies (MI5, MI6)
Court records	Information held for legal proceedings
Personal data	Releasing someone else's personal data would breach the DPA
Information provided in confidence	Information given under a duty of confidentiality

Qualified Exemptions (public interest test):

For qualified exemptions, the public authority must weigh whether the public interest in releasing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it.