Freedom of Information Act

What is the Freedom of Information Act?

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, a public authority is required to publish certain information and to make other information available to whoever formally asks for it. This latter process is known as a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request.

Why was the Freedom of Information Act introduced?

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was intended to increase the transparency of government and improve public trust.

The introduction of this new law followed several decades of attempts by campaigners to reform the release of public information. Previously the 1911 Official Secrets Act had made the unauthorised disclosure of any information held by public organisations a criminal offence.

The Freedom of Information Act (also known as the FOI Act) was preceded by a 1997 White Paper entitled ‘Your Right to Know’, which stated that “openness is fundamental to the political health of a modern state” , adding “unnecessary secrecy in government leads to arrogance in governance and defective decision-making.”

The Freedom of Information Act was introduced by the first Blair government.

Main Provisions of the Act

The main provisions covered under the 2000 Freedom of information legislation include:

Making a request
Anyone can now make a Freedom of Information Request, regardless of age, nationality, or residence. Requests must be made in writing and include the real name and address of the person making the inquiry (this can be an email address).

Upon receiving a FOI request, organisations regulated by the Freedom of Information Act must acknowledge whether they hold the requested information and provide it within a 20 working day statutory deadline unless an exception applies. Public organisations have a duty to assist applicants to a reasonable extent.

Type of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 covers all recorded information that is in the possession of public authorities. This is not limited to official documents, nor to written records, CCTV is also covered for example.

Information that may be known by public employees but not recorded, is not required to be communicated. The Act also does not cover information that is simply held by the public body on behalf of another person or entity.

Public Authorities
Public authorities are listed in the Act in some cases by name, in others by type (such as a government department or a local council). The Lord Chancellor has the power to expand the Freedom of Information list to include new organisations.

Entities owned by the Crown have been classed as publicly owned since 2013.

Some public entities only have to provide information about a particular area of their work. For example, health practitioners are only obliged to provide information relating to the NHS.

Publication Scheme
Public organisations must clarify the type of information they intend to publish, as well as how they will do so.

FOI Exemptions and Appeals

There are several situations in which an organisation is allowed to refuse the provision of information. Exemptions are divided between an absolute exemption and a qualified exemption.

Absolute exemptions are those for which there is no duty to consider disclosure. There is an exemption for matters that relate to national security, cases involving personal information, and where it is necessary to protect commercial interests. If information has already been made public, the organisation is also not required to repeat it in responding to an FOI Request.

A Qualified exemption is where the organisation can judge whether releasing or withholding the information would best serve the public interest and meet a public interest test.

A public entity is also not required to provide the information requested if the cost of doing so would exceed £600 for central departments, parliament, and the armed forces and £450 for other public bodies.

If a Freedom of Information application is refused and the enquirer is not satisfied, an individual should first make a complaint through an organisation’s internal complaints procedures. Should that internal review not be met with someone’s satisfaction, they have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner.

The Information Commissioner is then ultimately responsible for the enforcement of the Freedom of Information Application, including ruling on appeal as to whether the request has been adequately resolved.

After 30 years, the records of most public organisations become historical records, meaning any exemptions are no longer valid. For particularly sensitive information, such as that kept by law enforcement, this period of time is longer.

How to make a Freedom of Information Request

Freedom of Information Requests must be sent in writing to the organisation that holds the information and include details of what is being asked alongside the enquirer’s contact details. Most organisations accept email requests, and many, also include a freedom of information section on their website.

Requests for data relating to the environment must typically be labelled as such, as there are variations in the procedures relating to environmental information. This is covered by a specific environmental information regulation introduced in response to a European Union directive in 2004.

High profile information extracted from Freedom of Information Requests

Since the modern Freedom of Information system was put in place at the start of the Twenty First century, the Act is said to have generated greater public openness with government, and potentially altered future behaviour.

There have been a number of high profile revelations as a result of FOI requests.

Perhaps most famous was the Freedom of Information request that led to the 2009 MPs’ expenses scandal. Following this particular request, the Daily Telegraph published details of the reimbursements claimed by then Parliamentarians. The expenses being claimed, included a range of elaborate and extravagant items, not least the floating duck pond island of the then Conservative MP, Sir Peter Viggers. A large number of Members of Parliament were shamed into repaying expenses that they had claimed

As a result of the Daily Telegraph’s investigation, eight Members of Parliament later also faced criminal charges for submitting bogus expense claims, being prosecuted variously for dishonesty, expenses fraud or false accounting. As the result of actual crimes surrounding the expenses scandal, five Labour MPs (David Chaytor, Jim Devine, Elliot Morley, Eric Illsey and Dennis MacShane) were all sentenced to various periods of imprisonment.

In 2011, a different Freedom of Information Request by the London Evening Standard newspaper discovered that 59 diplomats had been arrested in London over three years for a variety of offences, including rape and robbery. These individuals were not able to be charged since they were protected by diplomatic immunity.

In 2013, FOI Requests by the Manchester Evening News revealed that the former Liberal Democrat MP Sir Cyril Smith had interfered with a police investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with young boys levelled against him in the 1970s. The FOI request showed that Smith had questioned inspectors on the details of the investigation and admitted to speaking with witnesses after they had given a statement, resulting in his being warned against such conduct. However Smith was never officially charged.

In 2015, information published through FOI Requests revealed that British pilots were carrying out air strikes in Syria despite the House of Commons having voted against such military involvement.