FOIA meaning

In this issue: Social housing Education Planning Local government finance Public procurement Governance Healthcare Social care Licensing Environmental law and climate change LexTalk®Local Government: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Social housing Local authority successful in Court of Appeal on suitability of accommodation offered in performance of prevention duty (Fatolahzadeh v LB of Barnet) Fatolahzadeh v LB of Barnet saw Genevieve Screeche-Powell represent the council, which prevailed in resisting a Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996), section 204 appeal pursued by a homeless applicant. Two central issues of principle arose: (i) whether Parliament intended that an alleged non-compliance with the ‘new’ HA 1996, s 189A duties should automatically vitiate any later decision taken to meet the duty to secure suitable accommodation; and (ii) the extent to which the section 202 review procedure can rectify asserted shortcomings. This marks the first occasion on which the Court...

The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/679, and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FIA 2000) oblige public and private bodies to reply to subject access requests within one to three months when people seek details of the personal data those organisations hold about them. Yet, on 28 September 2022, the ICO announced that an investigation had found Virgin Media, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, the London Borough of Croydon, Kent Police, the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Lambeth had 'repeatedly failed' to meet this statutory deadline. Following these conclusions, the regulator issued reprimands to all seven organisations and, under the FIA 2000, practice recommendations to two of the London boroughs. The agency added that these bodies have three to six months to make improvements or 'further enforcement action could be taken'. In a statement, Information Commissioner John Edwards said SARs and FOIA requests are fundamental rights and a vital gateway to exercising other rights. The ability to ask an...

In this issue: Public procurement Governance Social housing Children's social care Planning Environmental law and climate change Social care Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Public procurement An occupational hazard – a sub‑optimal outcome for a non‑compliant bidder (Working on Wellbeing Ltd (trading as Optima Health) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and another) Optima Health (Optima) contested the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) exclusion of its bid from a mini‑competition on the basis that it failed to comply with a requirement not to exceed framework price ceilings (the Decision). Mr Justice Freedman, sitting in the English High Court, dismissed the challenge, holding that the Decision was lawful in the circumstances. Authored by Andrew Dean, head of UK Procurement and Public Law, and Hafsah Akhtar, trainee solicitor, at Clifford Chance. See News Analysis: An occupational hazard – a sub‑optimal outcome for a non‑compliant bidder (Working on Wellbeing Ltd...

Grasping what counts as environmental information is central to environmental regulation, as it dictates whether an information request is handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI 2000) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, SI 2004/3391 (EIR 2004). Where the material sought fits the definition of environmental information, the request must be dealt with under the EIR 2004. This Practice Note explores the statutory meaning of environmental information and draws on published guidance and case law to illustrate when material has been deemed environmental, including disputed categories such as: financial viability assessments road tolling information information regarding a public authority's decision to dispose of land The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued a Guide to the EIR for staff in public authorities or those with day-to-day responsibility for environmental information. Regulatory definition of environmental information Environmental information is defined in regulation 2(1)(a)-(f) of the EIR 2004 as having the same meaning as in the Access to Environmental Information Directive 2003/4/EC....

Since the arrival of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FIA 2000) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR 2004), SI 2004/3391, commentators have argued that releasing information risks curbing candid and open policy debate within public authorities. Claims of a chilling effect on discussion, and the necessity of a safe space for debate, are usually presented within the public interest considerations advanced by authorities seeking to apply a qualified exemption to an information request. Key illustrations are FIA 2000, s 35 (formulations of government policy, etc), FIA 2000, s 36 (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs) and EIR 2004, reg 12(4)(d) and (e) (exceptions to the duty to disclose environmental information). Both safe space and chilling effect arguments concentrate on the need to shield internal deliberation and the decision-making process. What is meant by a ‘chilling effect’ and by ‘safe space’? Public authorities have contended that, if required to reveal details of internal discussions, the free and frank exchange needed to develop policy in future would...

Abandon Describes a situation where the contractor halts performing the works for an extended, uninterrupted span of days (eg 20 business days) or for a greater aggregate of non-consecutive days (eg 60 business days) across the project’s duration or within a stated timeframe (eg 12 months), doing so wilfully and without justification at any stage of delivery or execution. Abandonment is ordinarily treated as a contractor default, enabling the Authority to terminate the Project Agreement and/or permitting Project Co to end the construction contract immediately for cause. Acceptance Tests Tests carried out to confirm whether the facility (or another project asset) achieves the standards required for the Authority to deem facility complete and accept it. Access Protocol The protocol that Project Co must follow in order to obtain access to the buildings forming part of the project at any time during the term. For instance, on a social housing scheme or a school, prerequisites would have to be satisfied by Project Co before...

ARCHIVED : This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained. [ Name ] [ Address ] Ref No: [ number ] [ Date ] Dear [ applicant's name ] Thank you for your [ letter OR email OR fax ] dated [ date of letter/email/fax from applicant ] seeking information about [ insert details ]. We have now concluded our search for the information you requested...

[ Insert address of applicant ] [ Insert name of public authority ] [ Insert address of public authority ] [ Insert date of application ] Dear [ insert organisation name ], I am seeking disclosure of the following information pursuant to section 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000: [ Insert description of the information requested ]. Please provide the information in [ specify hard copy or electronic format ]. If you have any questions about this request, or a fee is necessary to process it, kindly contact me at the earliest opportunity [ , ideally by [ insert method ] ]. My contact details are as follows: Address: [ insert address for correspondence ] Telephone: [ insert telephone number ] Email: [ insert email address ] Yours faithfully, [ Insert name of applicant ]...

Definitions 1 In this Agreement, unless context requires otherwise, the terms and phrases below carry the meanings given: 1.1 ‘Code of Practice’ refers to the Code of Practice concerning the discharge of duties by public authorities under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3391), issued pursuant to Regulation 16 of those Regulations, February 2005; 1.2 ‘DPA 2018’ means the Data Protection Act 2018 (2018/c.12) (as amended); 1.3 ‘EIR 2004’ means Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/3391) (as amended); 1.4 ‘FIA 2000’ means the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (2000/c. ...

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FIA 2000) and the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA 1998) are distinct regimes, save for the overlap raised here. They otherwise operate separately from one another as a rule. FIA 2000 contains various exemptions. Those exemptions mean the kind, character or even the presence of the information need not be revealed under FIA 2000. For this scenario, the pertinent carve-out is in FIA 2000, s 40, in particular FIA 2000, ss 40(1) and 40(5)(a). Where the material amounts to personal data and the data subject seeks disclosure via FIA 2000, the exemption applies in absolute terms...