Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Public authority definition

What does Public authority mean? In legal practice, a public authority is an organisation that performs public functions or statutory duties, often substantially publicly funded or under governmental control (for example central or local government, NHS bodies, police and regulators) and, in some contexts, privately owned or third-sector providers delivering outsourced services. The term has no single definition; its scope is context-specific. In the UK, key regimes define it variously: Human Rights Act 1998 s.6 (core and hybrid public authorities); Freedom of Information Act 2000/FOISA 2002 (primarily listed bodies); Environmental Information Regulations (functional/control test); Data Protection Act 2018 (UK GDPR) adopting the FOI lists; and Equality...

Absolute Exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000: Sections 21, 23, 32, 34, 36, 37, 40, 41 and 44, Historical Records and ICO Guidance

Published by a LexisNexis Public Law expert

Practice notes

In brief

A public authority does not have to disclose information in response to a request made under the Freedom of Information act 2000 (fia 2000) if:

the estimated cost would exceed the appropriate limit
the request is vexatious
the request is repeated
an exemption applies

FIA 2000 provides 24 exemptions that allow an authority to withhold the information sought. These exemptions fall into two main types:

absolute exemptions
qualified exemptions, which are subject to a public interest test

When handling a freedom of information request, even where an exemption is engaged, an authority must still meet its duty to offer advice and assistance so far as it is reasonable. Therefore, even if material is considered exempt, the authority should do more than issue a refusal notice and should also consider what assistance to provide to the applicant.

For further reading, see Practice Note: Procedural traps in relation to FOI requests—Duty to provide advice and assistance. This Practice Note focuses on absolute exemptions under FIA 2000. For information on qualified exemptions, see Practice Note: Qualified exemptions to a freedom of information request...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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