Freedom of Information Act 2000 — practical summary
A compact reference to FOIA 2000. Scottish public authorities normally use FOISA 2002 instead.
The basic right
FOIA gives any person a right to request recorded information held by public authorities covered by the Act, subject to exemptions and procedural rules. It is generally motive-blind: the requester's reason for asking is usually irrelevant.
Time for compliance
Most authorities must respond promptly and no later than 20 working days. The first working day after receipt is day one. A bank holiday in any part of the UK is excluded for FOIA purposes.
If reasonable clarification is needed to identify and locate the information, the clarified request starts a fresh 20-working-day response period after the clarification is received.
Public-interest extension
Where extra time is reasonably required to determine the public-interest balance for a qualified exemption, FOIA can allow a reasonable extension. ICO guidance normally expects no more than a further 20 working days, rather than treating the extension as automatic.
Exemptions and refusal
Some exemptions are absolute; others require a public-interest test. A refusal notice should identify the exemption relied on and provide the reasoning required by the Act.
Scotland is separate
FOIA 2000 is not the ordinary freedom-of-information regime for devolved Scottish public authorities. Those bodies generally fall under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, with appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Review and ICO
The ICO generally expects requesters to use the authority's internal complaints/review procedure before making an FOIA complaint. The review process should be prompt and ordinarily within 20 working days.
Official sources
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
- ICO – FOI timescales
- ICO – public-interest test
- Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Reviewed September 2026. Guidance checked against current ICO / Scottish Information Commissioner material and legislation. General information only; verify critical deadlines against the applicable law.