The Freedom of Information Act recognises that there are valid reasons for withholding some information in response to a request. The Act details situations in which information is considered exempt. For a public authority to withhold information requested under the act at least one of the two categories of exemption must apply:
Absolute Exemptions
These exemptions are unconditional, examples include:
These exemptions are subject to a public interest test. In these cases the Authority will look at whether the balance of public interest is weighted in favour of publishing the information requested. Where this is found to be the case the information requested will be provided to the applicant.
There are 24 qualified exemptions under the Act including:
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Commercially sensitive information.
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Information that would prejudice the health and safety of an individual.
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Information about the environment (this can be accessed under the Environmental Information Regulations).
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Where release of information will be damaging to individuals or to businesses.
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Where the health and safety of individuals or communities may be compromised.
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Where release of information may prejudice a future decision .
When required the Authority will make a decision on whether an exemption applies to all or part of an information request through a panel of trained FOI Officers.
Further information
Under FOI legislation all public authorities must have a
publication scheme, this details information that is routinely made available by the Authority and whether there is a charge for this information.