|
|
The Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on 1 January 2005.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, anybody may request information from a public authority which has functions in England, Wales and/or Northern Ireland. The Act confers two statutory rights on applicants:
- To be told whether or not the public authority holds that information; and if so,
- To have that information communicated to them.
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 As Schedule 1 to the Act is amended frequently, paper copies are now out of date. We publish an up-to-date version of the list of public authorities (i.e Schedule 1) monthly.
As well as the organisations listed in Schedule 1, the Act 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.
To find out whether a particular organisation is covered by the Act, and what happens if it isn't covered, refer to Department for Constitutional Affairs online guide.
Freedom of Information What does it mean for us? - Introductory Session for a basic understanding of FOI.
You can telephone or vist Waltham Forest Direct, or you can email the Freedom of Information Officer at foi@walthamforest.gov.uk
For further information on the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Information sourced from Department for Constitutional Affairs website.
