General FAQs

What does the Freedom of Information Act mean?

Public authorities have two main responsibilities under the Act. They will have to adopt and maintain a "Publication Scheme", and they will have to deal with requests for information. The right to request information will come fully into force in January 2005.

What type of information does the act cover?

Before January 2005, a public authority must provide the information stated in its approved publication scheme. From January 2005 the public will have the right to request any information, fully retrospectively, held by a public authority, although this right is restricted by a number of provisions exempting disclosure. These exemptions vary from case to case and are detailed fully in Part II of the Act, relating to matters such as national security, defence, police investigations and the development of government policy. Also, the act does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the 'appropriate limit' (again, varying from case to case). In any event, the request must be handled within twenty working days (excluding time to receive fees or to clarify a request).

What is a Publication Scheme?

All public authorities are required to adopt a publication scheme. A Publication Scheme must set out the types of information the authority publishes, the form in which the information is published, and details of any changes. It should also state whether the information is available free of charge or on payment. The Scheme must be approved by the Information Commissioner. Every Public Authority must publish information in accordance with its Publication Scheme and from time to time review its Publication Scheme. In adopting or reviewing a Publication Scheme, a Public Authority must 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 authority.

Are there any existing or example publication schemes?

Yes. A number are available from the Information Commissioner, as well as from sources relevant to your sector. If a public authority does not wish to adopt an appropriate model scheme, it will need to develop its own bespoke scheme and submit that scheme to the Information Commissioner for approval.

What happens if we do not comply with a request?

If a member of the public is dissatisfied with a public authority's response to a request for information, the applicant must first ask the authority to review its decision. If still dissatisfied, the applicant can then appeal to the Information Commissioner, who can order the authority to disclose the information. If the authority still fails to comply with a request, or complies in a way that is known to be incorrect or inaccurate, the responsibility ultimately rests with the organisation's 'accountable person'. The Act confers powers of entry and inspection, and can bring a case at the High Court or, in Scotland, the Court of Session, and deal with the authority as if it had committed a contempt of court.

Do I need to distribute information over the web? What is the advantage?

A web-based system is of course not a holy grail, but it can definitely ease the burden. The first step is to ensure that any information covered by your publication scheme, which might include annual reports, minutes of meetings, policy documents, performance figures, etc. is available online. Requests for this core information can then be served quickly and efficiently from the website. Your organisation will not have to respond to individual requests for information if that information is already published in the Scheme, because it is reasonably obtainable without a person having to make a request under the Act. As the full implications of the Act become apparent for your organisation, your public website, intranet and document management system can be extended to publish more information and to queue and manage requests from the public. Many people facing the FOI challenge view compliance with the act as being central to the better management of information in their organisation. It should be noted that provision must be made for those who do not have access to the Internet or who have special access needs.

How would a web-based system be used?

Web-ready content, text, images and electronic documents (such as PDFs) are uploaded by any authorised member of staff into the secure administration interface of a content management system, adding metadata as they do so. These changes, which might include new documents, changes to an existing piece of content, or deletions, are entered into a processing queue. No changes are visible on the public website until the item has been approved by an authorised reviewer.

What is a Content Management System?

Software that provides a set of interfaces (usually accessible via the Internet) to allow administrators to manage the content, documents and data available on a website. The CMS provides a range of functions, such as the processing queue described above, to make managing this information as efficient and straight-forward as possible, making the most of potentially scarce resources.

What is Metadata?

The most common definition of metadata is 'data about data'. This, however, is a simplification; metadata is a summary of the form and content of a resource. For example, a library catalogue contains metadata relating to books: their titles, authors, publishers etc. which allow a specific book to be found quickly. The e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS) lays down guidelines to be used by government officers when creating metadata for their information resources or when designing search systems for information systems, with the intention of providing maximum consistency of metadata across public sector organisations.

Important Notice
Some of the information in this section is extracted from the website of the Information Commissioner, which should be regarded as the most complete and up-to-date reference.