Freedom of information

The Act gives right to access information held by public authorities including:

Central Government
Local Authorities
NHS Service
Schools
Police

The Act was passed by parliament on 30 November 2000 and was fully implemented in January 2005.

If you wish to obtain information about yourself, the Data Protection Act 1998 will apply and you should make a Subject Access Request.

If the information that you are looking for is not about you, but is related to a public authority then the Freedom of Information Act 2000 will apply.

The Act gives you a general right of access to 'recorded' information held by public authorities.

The Act allows you access to information held by public authorities regardless of when the information was created or how long it has been held by the public authority.