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If your business deals with public or regulatory bodies (eg through grants, licences or tenders), the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act can affect it in a number of ways.

Does the Freedom of Information Act apply to private companies?

The FOI Act will apply to your private sector business if:

• the information you share with a public body is subject to an FOI request
• the information you share is published under the public body's

What is a Freedom of Information (FOI) request?

Under the FOI Act, anyone has the right to request any recorded information held by public authorities (eg government departments, local councils, health authorities etc) or by businesses that carry out public functions (eg privatised utility companies).

This right applies to all information held - not just the public body's official documents. It can apply to your business' intellectual property and confidential information, if this type of information is on their record.

How can FOI disclosure affect your business?

If the public body receives an FOI request and decides they need to disclose information that relates to your business, this may have a significant impact on your commercial or other interests.

A public body will normally take reasonable steps to contact and consult with a third party regarding the release of the information. This is typically known as 'third party consultation'.

Exemptions to FOI disclosure

Not all information is liable to be disclosed under the law. Certain types of information, for example, financial records or contract details, may be exempt from disclosure if they prejudice someone's commercial interest.

Exemptions may also apply to requests for third party personal data. Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

• if someone's FOI request relates to another person's personal data, the public body will need to consider the fairness, lawfulness and necessity of disclosing such information
• if disclosure would not be fair or lawful or would be disproportionate, the information will be exempt

See more on FOI exemptions: absolute and qualified.

When passing information to regulators and public authorities, it is worth being aware of their Freedom of Information obligations and the possible risk of disclosure.

Public authorities may refuse a request for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act under certain conditions. For example, if:

• it would cost too much or take too much staff time to deal with the request
• the request is vexatious
• the request repeats a previous request from the same person

In addition, the FOI Act has a number of exemptions that allow withholding information and, in some cases, refusing to confirm or deny if the information is held.

Some exemptions relate to a certain type of information, eg information on government policies. Other exemptions can apply if harm would arise, or be likely to arise, from disclosure.

Absolute exemption under the FOI Act

Public authorities can withhold information that falls under an absolute exemption without considering if there is a public interest in disclosing it. For example:

• security matters
• information prohibited from disclosure by other legislation
• if disclosure would result in a breach of confidence that would be actionable

Most exemptions are not absolute. In most cases, public authorities will have to consider public interest before deciding to release the information.

Qualified exemption under the FOI Act

If a public authority believes information falls under a qualified exemption, it must apply the public interest test.

This test requires a public authority to disclose the information unless it considers the public interest in withholding it outweighs that of disclosing it. Find Information Commissioner's Office guidance on the .

Examples of qualified exemptions include:

• commercial interests
• sensitive business information
• trade secrets

Find out more about the .

Read more about the FOI and commercially sensitive information.

FOI and data protection

Exemptions may apply to FOI requests that involve revealing third party personal data. Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR):

• if someone's FOI request relates to another person's personal data, the public body will need to consider the fairness, lawfulness and necessity of disclosing such information
• if disclosure would not be fair or lawful or would be disproportionate, the information will be exempt

Read more about the data protection principles under the UK GDPR.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act only covers public sector organisations. However, it can also affect private companies dealing with public authorities.

Under the FOI Act, information that may affect a business' commercial interests may be exempt from disclosure.

What are commercial interests?

A commercial interest is anything that affects your business' ability to work competitively. When deciding if releasing information would prejudice, or have the potential to prejudice, someone's commercial interests, the public authority should apply the .

Prejudice to commercial interests

To determine if disclosure would cause prejudice to commercial interests:

• you must be able to identify a negative consequence of the disclosure
• this negative consequence must be significant
• you must be able to show how the disclosure would cause the negative consequence
• there must be at least a real possibility of the negative consequences happening, even if you can't say it is more likely than not

To decide if they should disclose commercial information, a public authority will often need to exercise its judgement. It can seek the views of the business concerned, although it still makes the final decision. Download guidance on .

Trade secrets and the FOI

If certain information falls under the category of trade secrets, it could also be exempt from disclosure under the FOI Act.

The FOI Act doesn't define the term 'trade secret'. The term can cover, for example:

• technical information - such as an invention, a manufacturing process, a recipe, design drawings, etc
• business information - such as supplier lists, costs information, pricing or product development plans, etc

To constitute a trade secret, information should require the highest level of secrecy and not be:

• generally known
• widely disseminated
• simply confidential, but confer a competitive advantage to the owner

For trade secrets, the FOI Act provides an .

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act relates to public sector bodies. However, these organisations regularly engage with private sector companies in the provision of goods and services. This creates a situation where any information your business shares with public authorities may be subject to an FOI request and is potentially at risk of disclosure.

Risk of FOI disclosure

Types of information at risk of disclosure under the FOI Act include, for example:

• information you give to regulators in reports, annual returns, investigations, etc
• public tenders or contracts information
• your responses to public consultations
• information relating to planning procedures and proposed developments

Public authorities could also hold confidential or commercially sensitive information on your business, eg your financial records or contract details. This sort of commercially sensitive information may be exempt from the FOI Act. 

How to manage the risk of FOI disclosure

You cannot entirely avoid the risks associated with passing information to public authorities. However, you can lessen them in a number of ways. For example:

Label information as 'confidential' or 'restricted'

If the information is confidential or commercially sensitive, think carefully if it is necessary to disclose it. If it is, make it clear by labelling it 'confidential' or 'restricted'. Submit it separately to the rest of the less-sensitive information to reduce the risk of accidental disclosure.

Keep in mind that the exemption that applies to confidential information is a very narrow one and that it only applies in very limited circumstances. It will not automatically apply to all documents marked 'confidential'.

Download the ICO's guidance on .

Consider consultation rights in contracts

Try to establish consultation rights in your contract, ie the right to be informed before the public authority makes any disclosure. This may give you a chance to take action to protect your business before the information goes public.

Don't rely on blanket confidentiality clauses. Look at terms and conditions for dealing with public authorities and try to minimise the impact of the Act.

Consider FOI training and devise procedures

Train your staff on FOI requirements, data protection and the potential risk of information disclosure.

Set clear internal policies and procedures for the release of information to public authorities. Record the information you share with them and review it regularly. Consider assigning FOI responsibility to an individual staff member or team.

If someone makes an FOI request, public authorities will have to release this information (subject to a number of exemptions). 

While FOI can present a certain risk for your business, it can also provide an opportunity to gain useful information. For example, information about procurement criteria, decisions, previous contracts and even competitors.

Find out how to use FOI to your business advantage.

Public sector organisations may hold information that is relevant to your business or industry. For example, this can be information on their procurement processes, previous bid proposals or existing public contracts, and even information on your competitors. You have the right to request this information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

You may not get all the information you ask for - FOI exemptions would apply if disclosure would result in someone's personal details or commercial secrets being revealed.

Requesting personal information

Before you make a request for information, you should check if the information is:

• already in the public domain
• available elsewhere, eg through a public body's publication scheme or their website

You should not make requests for your own personal data under the FOI Act provisions. Instead, you can make a subject access request under the data protection legislation.

How to make an FOI request

Any request you make for information under the FOI Act must:

• be made in writing
• include your name
• include a postal or email address to which the public authority can reply

You should also be clear about the type of information you require, and the format you would prefer to receive it in. See how to .

What happens after you make an FOI request?

Public authorities must respond within 20 working days of receiving your request. They may:

• give you the information you asked for
• tell you if they don't have the information
• tell you if some other authority holds the information
• transfer the request on your behalf
• offer to give you the information for a fee ()
• refuse to give you the information by applying an exemption and explain why
• tell you if they need more time to consider your request
• treat all FOI requests in an 'applicant blind' and 'purpose blind' manner, ie without reference to the identity or the motives of the requestor

If the public authority needs to consider the public interest in disclosing or withholding the information, they may tell you that they need more time to respond. In such cases, you should receive a response within a maximum of 40 days from the date of your request.

Find ICO's guidance on .

Unless you provide services to or on behalf of a public authority, it is unlikely that your private sector business will have to deal with requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. However, if you hold information on behalf of a public authority, this could potentially come under the FOI Act.

It is unlikely that you will receive an FOI request directly. If you do, you should consult with the public authority that you're working with to discuss the reply.

The public authority may ask you to assist with a request if it relates to the information you hold. In this case, you should 91香蕉黄色视频 them by providing any information you have that they may need for their reply. The public authority will offer you advice and direction on what they need.

If you're asked to assist with an FOI request, it may help to understand more about the public authority's , how they , and the .