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Freedom of Information Act 2000
This Act came into force on the 1st January 2005 and means that you can now get access to documents and information held by public bodies up and down the country.
The Act does not cover personal information, as you can already have access to this under the Data Protection Act, but it does cover things like a schools disciplinary policy or the local hospital’s policy on salaries.
You are also able to get access to environmental information held by bodies like national parks or the environment agency.
There are still whole areas of the government’s activities that you won’t be able to get access to e.g. the security services, court records.
One of the main areas where it will be difficult to get information is where public bodies, like the County Council, are doing deals with large companies, like Jarvis, on Private Finance Initiative Agreements to build schools and run schools.
The Act sets out a timetable in which public bodies must supply the information and the amount the public body must absorb before charging you for cost of providing the information.
For more information you can contact the Department of Constitutional Affairs website
or
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545700
Fax: 01625 524510
Information Commissioners e-mail
Information Commissioner’s website
Disclaimer, Target Audience, Jurisdiction Last updated & checked: 02/04/2008