Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out general exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities.

Public authorities are defined in the Act and include Further Education institutions such as Central Sussex College.

The Act is intended to promote a culture of openness and accountability amongst public sector bodies by providing people with rights of access to the information held by them. It is expected that these rights will facilitate better public understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do and how they spend public money.

The Act introduces two new rights and obligations:

• A requirement for public authorities to adopt, maintain and adhere to a publication scheme
• A right for any person to make a request to any public authority for information held by it

The Freedom of Information Act sits alongside the Data Protection Act 1998 and the forthcoming Environmental Information Regulations as the principal mechanism for access to information held by English, Welsh and Northern Irish public bodies.

The Freedom of Information Act is enforced by the Information Commissioner, who oversees both Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation.