Freedom of Information

• What is it?• How to use it• Tips and strategies: • Making better requests• Overcoming obstructive authorities

FOI – your statutory rights

• To be told if a public body holds the information requested

• If so, to be supplied with the information requested

Who is covered?

• 100,000 public bodies:• Central and local government• The health sector• The police and armed forces• The education sector (not private)

Specifically…i

• All local councils, including parish and town councils

• The NHS - hospital and health trusts, GPs, dentists, pharmacists

• All government departments (DfE; MoD; Defra, etc)

• Schools, colleges and universities

Specifically…ii

• Fire and police forces/authorities• Quangos (eg, examination boards)• Government advisory committees• Regulators (Ofsted; Ofcom; Ofqual)• BBC, Channel Four (excluding for

journalistic activities)

Exempt ‘classes’ of information

• Absolute exemptions: where the authority can refuse information

Includes:• Information available elsewhere (Section 21)• Information relating to

investigations/proceedings being conducted by public bodies

• Court records (such as material filed for proceedings)

Absolute exemptions - bodies

• The Security and Intelligence Services (MI5/MI6)

• Special forces (SAS/SBS)Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)

• The Royal Family

• And…no duty to confirm or deny if information exists

Absolute exemptions ii

• Personal Information (Section 40)*• Information supplied to the public authority

by or relating to bodies dealing with security matters (Section 23)

• Information provided in confidence by another party (Section 41)**

*With caveats on public interest** But not contracts

FOI – qualified exemptions

• FOIA has 23 qualified exemptions, meaning information must be subject to public interest test. These include:

• Information prejudicial to effective conduct of public affairs (Section 36) – the so-called “catch-all” exemption

• Information that relates to formulation of government policy (Section 35)

• Legal professional privilege• Information prejudicial to UK’s international relations

(Section 27)• Information held for law enforcement functions (Section

31)

So…what’s in the “public interest?”

The Act states:

“Information must be released if it is judged that the public interest in disclosing it is greater than the public interest in not releasing it.”

Public interest factors – ICO guidance

Does the information…• Further understanding and participation in public debate

of issues of the day?• Promote accountability and transparency in public

bodies?• Promote accountability in how public money is being

spent?• Allow us to understand how decisions may affect our

lives?• Allow individuals to challenge decisions?• Bring to light information affecting public health and

safety?

How to make requests

• Must be in writing (letter, fax,e-mail)• Contain enough information for authority to

reply• Must give name and address• Requests are motive blind – no need to

say why you want information – but context can help

• Can ask for preferred format (eg hard copy, email, spreadsheet etc)

Making requests…

• Ask for an acknowledgement from the authority

• Note date when you should be getting response (20 working days)

• Ask authority to contact you if there is any misunderstanding about request

• Tell authority you want a schedule of dcouments held

Requests ii

Authorities…• Must respond “promptly”• have up to 20 working days to reply• Have a duty to provide advice and assistance

(eg transfer of request to another body; reframing of requests) – Section 16

• If refused, must give grounds (inc. PI arguments)• If refused, say how to appeal

Fees – does it cost?• Requests are mostly “free” but…• Can be refused above a cost limit:• £600 for Government departments (= 3.5

days)• £450 for other bodies, councils (= 2.5

days)• Below these limits, no charge except

copying and postage (discretionary)

What if request refused?

• All bodies must have internal complaints/appeals process

• If still unsuccessful, right of appeal to the Information Commissioner (www.ico.gov.uk)

• Further right of appeal to independent tribunal where IC rejects your appeal – also available to public body

• Appeals to tribunals must be made within 28 days of Commission ruling

Original request or internal appeal unanswered?

• Section 50 of the Act allows complaints direct to ICO where requests or appeals unanswered

• ICO has powers to direct authority to respond within certain time limits

• Has further enforcement powers