Access to Council Information

The Right to Information

Individuals already have the right to access information about themselves (personal data) which is held on computer and in some paper files, under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) extends this right of access as far as public authorities are concerned to allow access to all types of information held, whether personal or non-personal.  This may include information about third parties, although the public authority will have to take account of the Data Protection Act 1998 before releasing any personal information.

The FOI Act gives two related rights:-

• The right to be told whether the information exists
• the right to receive that information

The right to access the information held by public authorities can be exercised by anyone worldwide.  The Act is also retrospective.  This right to access information came into effect on 1st January 2005.

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) provide the public with a right to request access to environmental information held by public bodies. Requests for environmental information do not have to be in writing; they may come in any form. Nor do they need to mention the EIR's specifically in order for them to apply.  There is also no geographic restrictions; the information may relate to anywhere in the world and may be requested by anyone, anywhere in the world.

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) covers private and public sector organisations in the UK. It gives an individual the right to find out what information is held about them.  If information held about the individual is wrong, they have the right to correct this.  The Data Protection Act also regulates the use of computerised information and other records in relation to individuals and regulates disclosure.

In effect, the three pieces of legislation work together, the Environmental Information Regulations enabling access to environmental information, the Data Protection Act enabling access to personal information of which the applicant is the subject, and the Freedom of Information Act enabling access to all other information.