Access to official information

The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations give you the right to request information held by public authorities. They do not provide the right of access to personal information about yourself - this is covered under data protection.

You might not always receive the information you request as there are sometimes valid reasons why some kinds of information will be withheld, such as if its release would prejudice national security or damage commercial interests.

The public authority has 20 working days to respond to your request.  It is not obliged to deal with vexatious or repeated requests.

How do I make a request?

• You must contact the public authority directly.
• All freedom of information requests must be in writing (this includes email) and provide the applicant’s name and an address for a response; under the Environmental Information Regulations, requests can also be made verbally.
• There is no need to say you are asking for information under the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental Information Regulations, but mentioning them can help.
• Describe the information as clearly as possible – if your request is too broad or unclear the public authority may ask you to be more specific and this will cause delay.
• You can express a reasonable preference for the format you wish the information to be supplied in, for example, by email or as a paper copy.

Read our “It’s public information” factsheet for further information on how to make a responsible and effective freedom of information request. 

What happens next?

Public authorities must respond to requests within 20 working days. Under freedom of information, in cases where the public interest has to be considered, this time limit may be extended.
There is no extension to the time limit for considering the public interest test for environmental information requests, but this time limit can be extended for complex and bulky information.

What if the information is refused? 

When a public authority decides not to disclose information, it must specify the reason, and, where relevant, explain its arguments under the public interest test.
If you are unhappy about the way your request has been dealt with, you can complain to us, providing you have exhausted the internal review procedure of the public authority.

Making an FOI request?