FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ALAS HEALTHCARE
Scope
Policy Statement
The Policy
Public Authorities
Definition of Information
Principles
Your Right to Know 1997
Who Can Make a Request?
Related Policies
Related Guidance
Training Statement
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 provides access to information held by public authorities and is different to data protection legislation which is concerned with personal data held by all companies registered to hold such data.
The Policy
Public Authorities
These include government departments, local authorities, unitary authorities, the NHS, state education sector, police forces etc. It does not however cover every organisation that receives public funding e.g., charities, or certain private sector organisations that perform public functions.
Definition of Information
The Act covers any recorded information that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Recorded information includes:
Printed documents
Computer files
Letters
Emails
Photographs
Sound or/and Video recordings.
The Act ensures information is available in two ways.
Public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities.
Members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.
Principles
“Openness is fundamental to the political health of a modern state. The white paper marks a watershed in the relationship between the government and the people of the UK. At last, there is a government ready to trust the people with a legal right to information.”
“Unnecessary secrecy in government leads to arrogance in governance and defective decision making.”
Your Right to Know 1997
The main principle behind Freedom of Information is that, quite simply, people have a right to know about the activities of public authorities, unless there is a good reason for them not to. This is sometimes described as a presumption or assumption in favour of disclosure. This means that:
Everybody has a right to access official information disclosure should be the default-in other words information should be kept private only when there is a good reason and it is permitted by the Act.
An applicant (requestor) does not need to give a reason for wanting the information, on the contrary, public authorities must justify the refusal.
They must treat all requests equally, except under some circumstances relating to vexatious requests and personal data. The information someone can obtain under the Act should not be affected by who they are. All requestors should be treated equally whether they are journalists, local residents, public authority employees, or foreign researchers and because they should treat all requestors equally, they should only disclose information under the Act if they would disclose it to anyone else who asked. In other words, you should consider any information released under the Act as being released to the world at large.
Schedule 1 of the Act contains a list of public bodies that are covered by the Act.
Section 5 of the Act gives the secretary of state the power to designate further bodies as public authorities.
With effect from 1 September 2013, public authorities now include companies wholly owned:
By the Crown
By the wider public sector or
By both the Crown and the wider public sector.
Who Can Make a Request?
Anyone can make a freedom of information request you do not have to be a UK resident or a UK citizen. They can be made by organisations e.g. newspaper, campaign group or company.
Requestors should direct their request for information to the public authority they think will hold the information.
When appropriate, this organisation will assist individuals to access freedom of information requests by signposting to sources of advice such as Citizens Advice Bureau etc.
Related Policies
Corporate Social Responsibility
Data Protection Legislative Framework (GDPR)
Good Governance
Related Guidance
ICO Guide to Freedom of Information:
https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information/
Freedom of Information Act 2000:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36
Training Statement
All staff, during induction, are made aware of the organisation’s policies and procedures, all of which are used for training updates. All policies and procedures are reviewed and amended where necessary, and staff are made aware of any changes. Observations are undertaken to check skills and competencies. Various methods of training are used, including one to one, online, workbook, group meetings, and individual supervisions. External courses are sourced as required.
Date Reviewed:October 2022
Person responsible for updating this policy:
Next Review Date: October 2023
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