Freedom of Information Act
Here is some information on the FOI legislation based on that from the Information Commissioner's website:
The Freedom of InformationAct enables people to gain access to information held by public authorities in two ways:
Publication Schemes
Every public authority must make some information available as a matter routine through a publication scheme. Information that is included in such a scheme must be made available to the public. A publication scheme is both a public commitment to make certain information available and a guide to how that information can be obtained.
General right of access
Any person has the right to make a request for information held by a public authority. The authority must usually respond to this request within 20 working days. This right came into force on the 1 January 2005.
Exemptions
The Act recognises that there are grounds for withholding information and provides a number of exemptions from the right to know, some of which are subject to a public interest test. The Act also sets out procedures for dealing with requests, such as time limits for compliance and fees that must be charged.
Making complaints
The Information Commissioner is the independent regulator of the Act, with responsibilities to promote the legislation and enforce compliance with its provisions. This includes making decisions as to whether a public authority has dealt with requests properly.
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