Freedom of Information
General
Freedom of Information legislation gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities.
- Freedom of Information Act 2000 covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002: explanatory notes and first commencement order.
General information on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is available from the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). The Lord Chancellor has issued two Codes of Practice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. These were published on the Lord Chancellor's website in November 2002.
Guidance on the implications of recent freedom of information legislation for archivists and records managers has been produced by the Public Record Office. The PRO has also published a publication scheme.
Higher and further education organisations
An introduction to the issues of freedom of information is provided by JISC Legal Information Service. A Model Action Plan for Achieving Compliance with the Lord Chancellor's Code of Practice on Records Management for Higher and Further Education, was published by JISC, in collaboration with the Public Record Office, in April 2002.
A Full Briefing Paper and a Senior Management Briefing Paper were issued by JISC in October 2002.
A model publication scheme for further and higher education institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been produced by a working group under the auspices of the JISC and other representative sector organisations. Information about pilot projects set up to assess the feasibility of implementing the JISC model scheme is also avalaible.
Working examples
The links below provide some examples of operational higher and further education freedom of information policies and statements (copyright in these documents rests with the individual institution from whom permission should be sought before reproduction):