Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act gives two distinct obligations on a Public Authority if an individual requests access to copies recorded information.  Firstly, the right to be informed if the information requested exists, and secondly, the right to have that information communicated.

Section 1(1) of the Act states:

(1) Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled -

1. to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request, and
2. if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.

Public Authorities must comply with this section of the Act unless exemptions apply.

Publication Schemes

Publication Schemes are a novel feature of the United Kingdom's legislation on access to information held by public authorities. Their purpose is to be a means by which a public authority can make a significant amount of information available routinely, without waiting for someone to specifically request it.

Section 19(2) of the Act sets out the requirements for a publication scheme as follows:

A publication scheme must:

• specify classes of information that the public authority publishes or intends to publish;
• specify the manner in which information of each class is, or is intended to be, published; and
• specify whether the material is, or is intended to be, available to the public free of charge or on payment.

Section 19(3) states that "in adopting or reviewing a publication scheme, a public authority shall have regard to the public interest in allowing public access to information held by the authority and in the publication of reasons for decisions made by the public authority".

Section 19(1) provides that it shall be the duty of every public authority to adopt and maintain a publication scheme, to publish information in accordance with its scheme and, from time to time, to review its publication scheme.