Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 received Royal assent on 30th November 2000 and gives the public a general right of access to all types of 'recorded' information held by 'public authorities' (which includes local authorities).

This is in addition to individuals' rights of access to information about themselves under the Data Protection Act 1998, and other  legislation including the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 that already secures public access rights to much information held by a local authority.

Herefordshire Council have two main responsibilities under the Act:

• They must produce a 'publication scheme', approved by the Information Commissioner which is in essence, a guide to the information the Council hold that is routinely made available to the public. Under the Act, 'information' includes all information held anywhere within an institution and does not have to be in the form of a specific document or structure. The scheme will describe how and when this information is published and whether it is available free of charge or on payment.
  
• They must deal with individual requests for information. This is known as the 'right to know'. From January 2005, any person or body including companies resident in or outside the UK, will have the right to be informed whether the Council holds the particular information in question  and the right of access to that  recorded  information held, subject only to the limitations and exceptions imposed by the Act and other legislation.

The following issues are  irrelevant to processing such a request:

• what lengths are necessary for that information to be gathered and supplied (though beyond certain limits payment may required to be agreed in advance).
• what the person will do with that information.
• the motives of the person making the request ( but the Council does have the right to refuse to process any requests that are vexatious or repetitious). 

The legislation is designed to promote greater openness and transparency throughout the public sector. It is expected that these rights will facilitate better public understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do and how they spend public money.

If you require further details on the Freedom of Information Act e-mail us at foi@herefordshire.gov.uk.