Intellect Freedom of Information Act: Guidance for Suppliers

The Freedom of Information Act, which came into Force in January 2005, gives people a general right of access to information held by or on behalf of public authorities, and has a number of implications for suppliers working in the public sector market.

Much has been written about the Freedom of Information Act, however, we believe there is a need for supplier-focused guidance. This guidance summarises some of the key issues relating to the Freedom of Information Act for the benefit of Intellect’s members and is intended to raise awareness of the implications of the Act on the services suppliers provide to public sector clients. It also seeks to provide some practical steps that will enable suppliers to mitigate the risk of their information being disclosed improperly.

The government’s stated aim of the Freedom of Information Act is a new era of open government. Open government requires the public to have access to information and many UN member states have enacted or are enacting Freedom of Information legislation. Since 1 January 2005 any person is entitled to have disclosed to them any information that they request from a public authority, subject to certain exemptions.

Given the range of information that is subject to disclosure, we believe the Freedom of Information Act has significant implications for the supplier community and has the potential to impact the manner in which suppliers interact with public sector customers in the future.

We hope that this guidance will be a valuable tool for suppliers in their dealings with their public sector customers.

Intellect FOI Guidance (PDF 715KB - members only)

Links

• Department for Constitutional Affairs FOI site: http://www.foi.gov.uk/
• The Information Commissioner's Office: http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
• Office of Government Commerce: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/
• Lord Chancellor’s Code of Practice on the Management of Records: www.dca.gov.uk/foi/codemanrec.htm
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (for The Environmental Information Regulations 2004): http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/opengov/eir/index.htm

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