Highways Agency

The Freedom of Information Act came into force in January 2005.  To date, our supply chain partners have helped us achieve a 95.5% success rate for handling requests during 2005.

See an analysis of the first year's responses here (PDF 80KB). 
 
We also operate a disclosure log on the HA Website, if you want to get a flavour of the requests we have received so far and how we responded to them.

A Right to Know

Changing our culture under FOI from  "need to know" to a "right to know" is a huge challenge for us all.  Traditional classifications such as "confidential" or "restricted" are now no more than a guide under the new improved access to information regime.  The types of enquiry received so far by the Agency can generally be divided into four groups-

• The concerned individual who wants to locate information to help them to make their case in a dispute or discussion with us.
• Organisations who are looking to do business with the Agency or challenge our ways of doing business.
• Journalists who are clearly using FOI to carry out research.
•  Individuals with a particular interest, which is hard to explain!

Key Requirements

The Act states that requests-

• Must be in writing (letters, faxes, e-mail).
• Can be from anywhere in the world.
• Do not have to cite or quote the Act.
• Must be answered within 20 working days (excluding Bank Holidays and week-ends).
• Do not need to be justified.  That is, applicants don't have to give  reasons  for a request. 

Exemptions

A raft of twenty-three exemptions  protects certain information from disclosure if there are sound reasons for doing so.  Eight are absolute exemptions.  Fifteen are non-absolute exemptions where a public interest test is required if we intend to withhold information.  Guidance on exemptions can be found at the website of the Department of Constitutional Affairs

We have the right to refuse a request for information outright, but only in 3 circumstances-

• The request is vexatious (very difficult to define).
• The request is repeated.
• The request is too costly to provide the information. Bear in mind that we tend to absorb costs as much as we can in  the spirit of the Act and that it also costs us money to process payments, so we keep a watchful eye on the cost effectiveness of our actions.

Response Time 

We can exceed the 20 working day response limit if we are-

• Seeking clarification of the information required.
• Asking for a fee in connection with providing the information.
• Carrying out a public interest test.
• Consulting third parties.

We must let the requestor know as early as possible if we require an extension to the statutory limits and why.

Complaints and Challenges

The Information Commissioner administers the Act and has the power to overrule an Agency decision not to release information. This is subject to a complaints procedure.

The Information Commissioner has his own website, which includes details of his decisions on complaints.  We review the decisions on a regular basis to identify learning points.  It is clear that the Commissioner wants us to be as helpful as possible, making every effort to volunteer additional information to that requested if it would be useful to the requestor.

The Information Commissioner's decision can be referred to the Information Tribunal.  The Tribunal's findings are published upon it's website.  An interesting case in late 2005 pointed to the need to be careful as to how we treat requests for electronically held information, which has been deleted because it may still be retrievable.

Desirable Practice

The Department of Constitutional Affairs website provides further information about FOI. It is worth noting that Sections 45 and 46 of the Act require the Secretary of State and Lord Chancellor to issue Codes of Practice guiding public authorities on 'desirable practice' in discharging their functions under Part I of the Act, and in relation to records management.

The Codes themselves do not have statutory force. However, failure to comply with the provisions of the Codes may lead to breach of the Act, and ultimately enforcement action being taken by the Information Commissioner.

Secondary Legislation

The Act gives the Secretary of State various statutory powers to make the act work in practice.  These include-

• Defining the bodies and organisations covered by the Act.
• Determining appropriate levels of fees for requests under the Act.
• Repealing or amending provisions in related legislation e.g. Environmental Information and Data Protection Acts.

Section 5 of the Act provides further power to designate public authorities.  This has implications for you as our supply chain partners.  Where it appears to the Secretary of State that you exercise functions of a public nature or provide a service which is a function of the Secretary of State's  authority, you could specifically come under the provisions of the Act.  You may find yourself directly fielding FOI requests.

However, before the Secretary of State can designate you as a "public authority" in terms of the legislation, you will be consulted so that your views can be taken into account.  Consultation on Section 5 is likely to be carried out by the Department of Constitutional Affairs later in 2006.  For the moment, continue to liaise with your Agency colleagues on all FOI requests.  We will bring you more news on this when we have it.

Further Information

We hope to bring you an on-line learning package later in the year, not only to help you understand more about FOI but also the FOI Environmental Protection : Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No. 3391) and Data Protection Act 1998.

In the meantime,  access more information on these related enactments using the following links-

Environmental Protection Protection: Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Detailed guidance to the regulations, including where they differ from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act can be found at the DEFRA website

Data Protection Act 1998

The Information Commissioner's Office provides similar guidance on the application of the Data Protection Act