Requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act

You can ask for any information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If you ask for information we hold about you, then your request will be handled under the Data Protection Act instead of the Freedom of Information Act.

Communities and Local Government must supply information within 20 working days of your request, if possible. If not, we will write to you explaining the reasons for the delay. We will keep you informed about the progress of your request.

Making a request

Requests for information should be made in writing (letter, fax or email). You can find postal and email addresses for the different areas of Communities and Local Government in the contact us section of this site. If you can't find a relevant section of the Department, use our general email address.

Exemptions

The Act allows some information to be withheld, to protect various interests. If this is the case with the information you have requested, we will give you a refusal in writing, along with the reasons for refusal and details of your right to appeal.

Areas of information for which exemptions may apply include (but are not limited to):

national security and defence
law enforcement
advice to Ministers in the formulation of policy
effective conduct of public affairs
confidentiality
commercial interests

Some exemptions are held to be 'absolute' under the Act - the information cannot be released under any circumstances. But most require a 'public interest' test to be applied first, before the information can be withheld. This means that if it is considered to be in the public interest, the information will be released.