Since the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came fully into force in 2005 there has been a fundamental change in the relationship between government and its citizens as government information has become more publicly accessible. This has led to the publication of a wide range of public sector information and dramatic expansion of available information. Information Officers are central to these developments and need to be fully aware of the Act and the impact of future changes to it.
This training session is designed to help those who are on the receiving end of requests for information and those who advise and assist them. The topics covered in this introductory level session include:
- an overview of the Freedom of Information Act, its structure and core provisions
- publication schemes
- understanding the fees regime and cost limit
- handling requests including the repeated request and vexatious exemptions
- refusal notices
- an overview of the exemptions and the public interest test. FOI Level 2 covers applying the exemptions in more detail than this Level 1 course.
- key decisions from the Information Commissioner and the Information Tribunal
- how to handle complaints
- the key differences between the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs). For a more detailed understanding of the EIRs, we suggest attending Understanding the Environmental Information Regulations.
The morning consists of instruction on the legal provisions, with the afternoon featuring practical exercises and further instruction.
There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and delegates are encouraged to bring queries and questions to the session, which will be fully interactive.
Attendance on this course can be used as credit towards gaining the Practitioner Certificate in Freedom of Information.
“I found the breakdown of each exemption and where it applies particularly useful.”