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Freedom of Information Act.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies to approximately 100,000
public authorities.
Many of them are listed in Schedule 1 to the Act, either by name or
by a description, (such as 'any government department'). As Schedule 1 to
the Act is amended frequently, paper copies are now out of date. The Act also applies to:
- private
organisations which have been designated by the Secretary of State as
public authorities for certain purposes (although no designations
have yet been made); and
- companies which are
wholly-owned by a public authority which is listed in Schedule 1. A
company is wholly-owned if it has no members other than members of
its 'parent' public authority, or people acting on behalf of that
public authority.
In terms of process,
the Law sets out a requirement for public bodies to appoint special
information officers who have a duty to promote the objectives of the
law. However, a request may be made to any officer of the relevant body.
Requests must be responded to within 20 days, extendable to 40 days for
large requests where compliance within the original time limit is not
possible. Where information is required to safeguard life or liberty, it
must be provided within 48 hours. An individual making a request may
specify the form in which s/he would like the information to be provided.
Fees may not exceed the actual cost of providing the information and may
not be charged for personal or public interest requests.
While the Act does not, as yet, apply to private organisations, the
implications of the Act need to be understood by organisations dealing
with public bodies and seeking grant assistance from public bodies.
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