decorative image representing freedom of information

Freedom of information requests

Freedom of information (FOI) gives you the right to ask any public sector organisation for information they hold. Anyone can ask for information. You can also ask for information about yourself under data protection legislation.

Organisations you can ask for information from

You can ask for information from publicly-funded organisations that work for the welfare of the whole population, such as:

  • government departments
  • local councils
  • schools, colleges and universities
  • health trusts, hospitals and doctors’ surgeries
  • publicly-funded museums
  • the police
  • non-departmental public bodies, committees and advisory bodies

Making an FOI request

You can contact us directly by letter or email to make a freedom of information request. When making your request, you should include:

  • your name
  • an address where you can be contacted
  • a detailed description of the recorded information you want
  • the format you want the information in

You can ask for the information in a number of different formats. This could be paper or electronic copies of any original documents, or other formats like large print, audio format or Braille.

Depending on the nature of your request, you can ask for all the information or just a summary.

If you plan to reproduce the information you receive, make sure you check the copyright status of it first.

Most requests are free but you might be asked to pay a small amount for photocopies or postage. You will be told by the organisation if you have to pay anything.

You should receive the information within 20 working days. If the organisation needs more time, they will contact you and tell you when you can expect the information.

How to access information from a public body

If your request is turned down

Some sensitive information might not be available to members of the public. If this is the case, the organisation must tell you why they have withheld some or all of the information you requested.

An organisation can turn down your request if they think it will cost them more than £450.00 (£600.00 for a central government organisation) to deal with your request.

They might then ask you to be more specific so they can give you the information you’re looking for.

If an organisation doesn’t give you the information you asked for, you should first contact them and ask them to review their decision.

Data protection

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the the Data Protection Act 2018 control how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government.

Everyone who collects data has to follow strict rules called ‘data protection principles’. They must make sure the information is:

  • processed  lawfully, fairly and in a transparent way
  • collected for written, explicit and legitimate purposes
  • adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which it is processed
  • accurate and kept up-to-date
  • kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary
  • processed in a safe and secure way

There is stronger legal protection for more sensitive information, such as:

  • race
  • ethnic origin
  • political opinions
  • religious or philosophical beliefs
  • trade union membership
  • genetics
  • biometrics (when used for ID purposes, such as facial recognition or fingerprints)
  • health
  • sex life
  • sexual orientation

Your data protection rights

You have the following rights under data protection legislation:

  • the right to be informed
  • the right of access
  • the right to rectification
  • the right to erasure
  • the right to restrict processing
  • the right to data portability
  • the right to object
  • rights about automated decision making and profiling