Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 extends people’s rights to access any information held by public authorities and applies from 1st January 2005. A 'public authority' is defined in the Act, and includes central and local government, non-departmental public bodies, the police, the health service and schools, colleges and universities. Any person who makes a request in writing to a public authority for information must be informed whether the public authority holds that information, and subject to exemptions, must be supplied with that information within 20 working days.
One of the exemptions concerns personal data – information we hold on an individual. Access to the information is protected under the Data Protection Act 1998, which gives an individual the right to ask what personal information is held about them, and subject to exemptions, must be supplied with that information within 40 calendar days.
The Freedom of Information Act requires each public authority to produce a Publication Scheme. This sets out what information will be made available to the public, how the public can access that information and whether the information will be available free of charge or on payment. The aim is to enable you to have fast and easy access to the information you require. |
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