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Exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act
The Act sets out a number of circumstances in which a public authority may decide not to provide information to the public. This is called ‘exempt information’ under the Act. It is not intended to set out all the exemptions in full, however the following is a summary of the types of information which are exempt-
- Information accessible by other means – information which is already public and reasonably accessible.
- Information intended for future publication
- Information relating to national security
- Information relating to criminal investigations or criminal or civil proceedings, court records or documents filed in court proceedings
- Information which would prejudice law enforcement, for example, the prevention or detection of crime, administration of justice.
- Information covered by legal professional privilege
- Information likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs
- Information relating to communications with Her Majesty, other members of the Royal Family or the Royal Household
- Personal Information about living individuals – people may make requests for personal information held about themselves under the Data Protection Act 1998 - see your records
- Information provided in confidence or trade secrets
- Information prohibited from disclosure under any other statutory provisions.
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