Freedom of  Information Ltd

The Freedom of Information Act hands you the power to uncover how your institutions are run.  Our secretive 'need-to-know' culture, though not completely dead and buried, has been replaced by a legal 'Right to Know'.  To use the Act effectively you need to understand how this right works in practice. 

The basics

The Right to Know allows you to do two things:

• To ask any public organisation covered by the Act what information it has on any subject you specify.
• If the organisation has the information, to be given copies.
  

Providing the information is not legally exempt from disclosure the organisation must tell you what it has and give it you within 20 working days.  In most cases, even if it withholds the information, it at least has to tell you what it has.

Extra rights

Your request has to be in written form, but email will do. You don’t have to give your real name, only a contact address.  Neither must you explain why you want the information and they have no right to ask you. These rights apply to everyone, not just UK citizens.

The FOIA also strengthens your rights under the Data Protection Act, allowing you access to both electronic and manual personal data.  

What if your request is refused?

If your request is refused, you can complain to the organisation involved, which must then carry out an internal review (see complaints procedure section of 'The public sector' page.)

If the complaint is rejected, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner, who, if he finds in your favour, has legal power to force disclosure.  If the Commissioner finds against you, you can appeal to the independent Information Tribunal.