What is “freedom of information”?
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004
- aim to promote greater openness and accountability in the public sector
- aim to improve how government works
- provide a right to access information held by a public authority
Anyone can request information and has
- the right to be told whether the requested information exists
- the right to receive that information
You don't need to say why you want the information, and we must reply fully within 20 working days.
There are some categories of information that we may not be able to supply – for specific legal reasons, for example – but we will do our best to respond as fully as we can.
Very rarely, for a very complicated request that takes us a lot of time and effort to answer, we may have to charge a fee, but the person requesting the information will be kept informed.
Officially, a request under the Freedom of Information Act must be in writing – by letter, fax or email. However, we try to treat all requests for information in the same way – whether written or verbal. If your request is detailed or complicated we may ask you to put it in writing or use our
Information Request Form.