Introduction

Summary

In testing whether a Freedom of Information regime is meeting its objectives, it is no good making a judgement on the basis of the statute alone. The most elegant and liberal legislation would be valueless unless supported by an administration that creates records systematically, retrieves them efficiently, and then provides them promptly. And so Freedom of Information administrators are critical to the success of this Act.

Lord Falconer (2004)

Welcome to the Freedom of Information Officer's Handbook. As the name suggests, this book is intended as an indispensable guide for those with responsibility for managing their organisations’ compliance with freedom of information (FOI) laws.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) has been in force in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1 January 2005. Like similar laws elsewhere in the world, it introduced a right of access to information held by specified public authorities (for the most part such laws only apply to the public sector). Many have taken advantage of this right, and there is hardly a news report that goes by these days without the inclusion of the phrase ‘the information, released under freedom of information’. Because of FOIA, the public found out about MPs’ expenses claims, what the Prince of Wales wrote to government ministers about, and less highprofile public interest stories such as the dangers of trampolines.

The UK was far from the first to adopt such legislation. There are now over 100 similar laws around the world, also commonly referred to as access to information or right to information laws. Even within the UK there is more than one FOI law, since Scotland has its own FOI Act.

Those affected in all these countries will have learnt that the right to access information is a simple concept in theory, but less so in practice. Within the pages of this book are copious examples of the legal, political and logistical challenges faced by organisations subject to FOI laws. There are people within those bodies whose job it is to manage them.

Lord Falconer was the UK minister responsible for implementing the FOIA in the lead up to 2005. Experience over the last 13 years has shown his assertion in the quotation at the start of this introduction to be correct: the officials with responsibility for managing FOIA obligations within public authorities have been absolutely critical to its success.