The Freedom of Information Act 2000

Introduction
What does it mean for me?
The Publication Scheme
Other Freedom of Information Policies
Contact Us

Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act) was passed by Parliament on 30 November 2000 and comes into force on 01 January 2005. The FOI Act gives everyone, within Merthyr Tydfil County Borough or worldwide, the right to access information held by public bodies such as Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, the NHS, the Police, the University of Glamorgan and the Welsh Assembly Government.

People do already have the right of access to information about themselves (personal data) under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 extends this to allow people access to all types of information held. The FOI Act is intended to promote openness, transparency and accountability within these organisations. It will also create better understanding of how public bodies work, why they make the decisions they do and how they spend public money. The FOI Act works alongside the 1998 Data Protection Act and the Environmental Information Regulations.

What does it mean for me?

Under the Freedom of Information Act, anyone can ask for information. If you do, you must be informed :

whether the public authority has that information;
and, if it does (and it is not exempt), you must be supplied with the information within twenty working days.

There are some exemptions to the Act, where some types of information will still be kept confidential. The types of information that are exempt and can be kept confidential are defined by the Act. Examples of types of exempt information include information that relates to national security, information that contains other people’s personal data and information that would stop the organisation doing business properly. Before deciding whether information is exempt, the organisation must decide whether it is in the public interest to do so.

The Publication Scheme

Under the FOI Act, every public body must also produce and maintain a Publication Scheme. This is basically a “menu” of all the information produced and held, which people can use as a guide to getting the information they want. A Publication Scheme allows a lot of information to be made available routinely, without waiting for someone to specifically request it. It can help people understand what is available to them.

“Information” and “Publications” are not limited to information contained in a bound or printed form (i.e. a brochure or a book). “Publication” can refer to many different forms of information – from computer print-outs to mass-produced leaflets. It can also include materials made available for inspection such as planning applications.

The Publication Scheme states the categories and classes of information held, the format in which the information will be published (e.g. in paper or electronic format) and whether a charge will be made for the information.

For further information visit the Information Commissioners website at www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/foi.nsf

Publication Scheme.pdf (157KB)