Your Rights Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

What the Freedom of Information Act Covers

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives you the right to request recorded information held by public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has separate legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which operates similarly.

Public authorities include local councils, central government departments, the police, NHS trusts and hospitals, state schools, universities, and many advisory bodies and committees. Whether an organisation falls under the Act depends on its designation as a public authority, not simply whether it receives public funding or carries out public functions.

You do not need to be a UK citizen to make a request. Anyone can ask for information regardless of age, nationality or where they live. The Act applies to recorded information, meaning anything written down, stored on a computer, or held in any other recorded format.

For neighbour disputes, FOI requests can help you understand how your council has handled a particular matter. You might want to see correspondence about enforcement action, records of complaints about a property, or details of planning decisions that affect your street.

Before making a request, check whether the information is already available through the authority's publication scheme. Public authorities must proactively publish certain classes of information, and what you need may already be accessible on their website.

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How to Make a Request

Your request must be in writing. This can be a letter or an email. Many public authorities accept FOI requests via email and typically provide a designated address for this purpose on their websites.

Your request needs to include:

• Your real name
• An address for correspondence, which can be an email address
• A clear description of the information you want

Being specific will help you get what you need. A vague request asking for "all information about planning applications" is likely to be refused as too broad, or the authority may ask you to narrow it down. This uses up time.

A better approach would be to ask for the planning committee reports and decision notices for a specific application reference number, or all correspondence between the council and a named developer about a particular site within a stated date range.

You do not need to explain why you want the information. The authority should treat your request the same regardless of your reasons.

Be aware that if the cost to the authority of responding exceeds £450 (or £600 for central government departments), they can refuse the request. You may also be charged for disbursements such as photocopying and postage.

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What Happens After You Submit Your Request

The public authority has 20 working days to respond. This period begins on the first working day after they receive your request. Where a qualified exemption applies and the authority needs to consider the public interest test, they can extend this by up to an additional 20 working days. The authority should tell you if they need more time and explain why.

The authority might provide the information you asked for, or explain that they do not hold it. They may confirm they hold the information but refuse to release it, citing an exemption under the Act.

There are various exemptions that allow public authorities to withhold information. Some of the more common ones include:

• Personal data about other individuals, where releasing it would breach data protection law
• Information provided in confidence
• Information that could prejudice law enforcement or legal proceedings
• Information intended for future publication
• Commercially sensitive information

Some exemptions are absolute, meaning the information will not be released regardless of circumstances. These include court records and certain categories of personal data. Others are qualified exemptions, which require the authority to weigh up whether the public interest in releasing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it. Qualified exemptions can cover areas such as government policy formulation and commercial interests.

If the authority refuses your request, they must explain which exemption applies and why. For qualified exemptions, they should explain how they reached their public interest decision.

If You Are Unhappy With the Response

If your request is refused, or you believe the authority has not handled it properly, you have the right to ask for an internal review. You should do this in writing within 40 working days of receiving the response, though acting sooner is sensible.

The internal review should be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision. The authority should complete it within 20 working days, though complex cases may take up to 40.

If you remain dissatisfied after the internal review, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. The ICO is the independent body that oversees freedom of information law. They can investigate whether the authority handled your request correctly and can order the authority to take action if they find problems.

Complaints to the ICO are free. You will need to provide details of your original request, the response you received, and the outcome of the internal review. The ICO website explains how to make a complaint.

For full details of your rights and how the Act works, visit GOV.UK or the ICO website. Both provide guidance written for the public and can help you understand what to expect when making a request.

The Next Step

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