5 new rights come into force

From 1 January 2005 members of the public have five important new rights to information held by public authorities in the UK:
  • The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is now in force, after a 4 year delay to give authorities time to prepare. The Act applies to central government bodies and to English, Welsh and Northern Ireland public authorities. It also applies to the House of Commons, the House of Lords and to the Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies.

  • The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 applies to the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish public authorities.

  • The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 provide a separate right of access to environmental information held by UK public authorities. Some private bodies, including utilities and contractors providing environmental services on behalf of authorities, are also covered. The regulations implement an EU directive.

  • The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 provide a similar right of access to environmental information held by Scottish public authorities and certain private bodies.

  • Amendments to the Data Protection Act 1998 strengthen people’s rights to see personal information about themselves held by public authorities throughout the UK, including Scotland. The Act already allows people to see computerised personal data about themselves and medical, social work, housing and school records. The amendments significantly improve the right to see other paper records.

Maurice Frankel, Director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, stated:

"The new rights will help people ensure that they are being treated fairly, learn whether they are exposed to hazards, check that public authorities are doing their job and give people a better chance of influencing decisions before they are taken. They should also lead to more honesty in government. Giving the public the right to see the documents for themselves will make it harder for authorities to conceal substandard performance or get away with spin or misleading accounts of what they are doing."

The Right to Know - five new rights come into force (Campaign for Freedom of Information website, 31 December 2004)

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