FOI

• Status: This version of this Act contains provisions that are prospective.
• Changes to legislation: Freedom of Information Act 2000 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 05 February 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
• An Act to make provision for the disclosure of information held by public authorities or by persons providing services for them and to amend the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Public Records Act 1958; and for connected purposes.
• The Act was enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same.
• Public authority


  Any body which, any other person who, or the holder of any office which is listed in Schedule 1, or is designated by order under section 5, or a publicly-owned company as defined by section 6
• Information held by a public authority

  It is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person, or it is held by another person on behalf of the authority
• The Secretary of State or the Minister for the Cabinet Office may by order amend Schedule 1 by adding to that Schedule a reference to any body or the holder of any office which is not for the time being listed in that Schedule but as respects which both the first and the second conditions are satisfied.
• First condition


  The body or office is established by virtue of Her Majesty's prerogative or by an enactment or by subordinate legislation, or is established in any other way by a Minister of the Crown in his capacity as Minister, by a government department or by the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister for Wales or the Counsel General to the Welsh Assembly Government
• Second condition


  In the case of a body, the body is wholly or partly constituted by appointment made by the Crown, by a Minister of the Crown, by a government department or by the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister for Wales or the Counsel General to the Welsh Assembly Government. In the case of an office, appointments to the office are made by the Crown, by a Minister of the Crown, by a government department or by the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister for Wales or the Counsel General to the Welsh Assembly Government
• If either the first or the second condition ceases to be satisfied as respects any body or office which is listed in Part VI or VII of Schedule 1, that body or the holder of that office shall cease to be a public authority by virtue of the entry in question.
• Publicly-owned company


  (for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000) a company that is wholly owned by the Crown, the wider public sector, or both
• Conditions for a company to be wholly owned by the Crown


  • Every member is a Minister of the Crown, government department or company wholly owned by the Crown, or a person acting on behalf of such an entity
• Conditions for a company to be wholly owned by the wider public sector

  • Every member is a relevant public authority or a company wholly owned by the wider public sector, or a person acting on behalf of such an entity
• Conditions for a company to be wholly owned by the Crown and the wider public sector


  • At least one member is from the Crown and at least one member is from the wider public sector, and every member is from either the Crown or the wider public sector, or the company is wholly owned by other companies that meet these conditions
• Relevant public authority


  Any public authority listed in Schedule 1, other than a government department or an authority listed only in relation to particular information
• A "company" includes any body corporate
• "Minister of the Crown" includes a Northern Ireland Minister
• Minister of the Crown

  Includes a Northern Ireland Minister
• Relevant public authority


  Any public authority listed in Schedule 1 other than a government department, or any authority which is listed only in relation to particular information
• Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) Part I – Access to information held by public authorities
• A request for information must be in writing, state the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence, and describe the information requested
• A request is treated as made in writing if the text is transmitted by electronic means, received in legible form, and capable of being used for subsequent reference
• Fees


  1. Public authority may give a fees notice stating a fee is to be charged

  2. Authority not obliged to comply until fee is paid within 3 months

  3. Fee determined by authority in accordance with regulations made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office

  4. Regulations may provide for no fee in prescribed cases, maximum fee, and how fee is calculated
• Time for compliance with request

  1. Authority must comply promptly and within 20 working days

  2. Working days when fees notice given are disregarded

  3. Authority need not comply until reasonable time if certain conditions not satisfied

  4. Minister for the Cabinet Office may make regulations to extend time to up to 60 working days
• Means by which communication to be made

  1. Provision of a copy of the information in permanent form or in another form acceptable to the applicant

  2. Provision of a reasonable opportunity to inspect a record containing the information

  3. Provision of a digest or summary of the information in permanent form or in another form acceptable to the applicant
• Where the applicant expresses a preference for communication by any of the above means, the public authority shall so far as reasonably practicable give effect to that preference
• Provision of information in electronic form

  Where the applicant requests a dataset and expresses a preference for communication by means of the provision of a copy in electronic form, the public authority must, so far as reasonably practicable, provide the information in an electronic form capable of re-use
• In determining whether it is reasonably practicable to communicate information by particular means, the public authority may have regard to all the circumstances, including the cost of doing so
• Where the public authority determines that it is not reasonably practicable to comply with any preference expressed by the applicant, the authority shall notify the applicant of the reasons for its determination
• Subject to the above requirements, a public authority may comply with a request by communicating information by any means which are reasonable in the circumstances
• Dataset


  Information comprising a collection of information held in electronic form where all or most of the information:

  • Has been obtained or recorded for the purpose of providing a public authority with information in connection with the provision of a service by the authority or the carrying out of any other function of the authority
  • Is factual information which is not the product of analysis or interpretation other than calculation, and is not an official statistic
  • Remains presented in a way that has not been organised, adapted or otherwise materially altered since it was obtained or recorded
• Release of datasets for re-use


  Where a person requests information that is or forms part of a dataset held by a public authority, and the dataset is a relevant copyright work owned solely by the public authority, the authority must make the relevant copyright work available for re-use by the applicant in accordance with the terms of the specified licence when communicating the work to the applicant
• The public authority may charge a fee in connection with making the relevant copyright work available for re-use, either in accordance with regulations or under another enactment
• Re-use fee notice


  Where the public authority intends to charge a fee, it must give the applicant a notice in writing stating the fee amount to be charged
• The public authority is not obliged to comply with providing the dataset for re-use while any part of the required fee remains unpaid
• Relevant Parliamentary work


  (a) a copyright work in relation to which the House of Commons or the House of Lords is the copyright owner, or (b) a database in relation to which the House of Commons or the House of Lords is the owner of the database right
• Specified licence


  The licence specified by the Minister for the Cabinet Office in a code of practice issued under section 45, and the Minister for the Cabinet Office may specify different licences for different purposes
• The Minister for the Cabinet Office may, with the consent of the Treasury, make provision by regulations about the charging of fees by public authorities in connection with making relevant copyright works available for re-use under section 11A(2) or by virtue of section 19(2A)(c)
• Regulations under section 11B may, in particular: (a) prescribe cases in which fees may, or may not, be charged, (b) prescribe the amount of any fee payable or provide for any such amount to be determined in such manner as may be prescribed, (c) prescribe, or otherwise provide for, times at which fees, or parts of fees, are payable, (d) require the provision of information about the manner in which amounts of fees are determined, (e) make different provision for different purposes
• Regulations under section 11B may, in prescribing the amount of any fee payable or providing for any such amount to be determined in such manner as may be prescribed, provide for a reasonable return on investment