The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 (external link) received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000 and the Lord Chancellor announced on 13 November 2001 how this would be achieved.
Guidance on the public's right under the Act is available on the Ministry of Justice website (external link).
The FOI Act was fully implemented across the public sector on 1 January 2005 and it superseded the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information 1997 (external link).
One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act is that public authorities should be clear and proactive about the information they make available to the public. The Act requires all public authorities to produce a Publication Scheme. The purpose of the Publication Scheme is to specify the classes of information that we will publish or intend to publish; the form in which this is or will be done; and whether there is any charge for the information.
Our scheme has received the formal approval of the Information Commissioner (external link). It is published on our website and available in the link below and copies are available from the Committee Secretariat.
The Committee's publication scheme can be downloaded here (pdf 164Kb) (pdf 89Kb).
Personal Data
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (external link) individuals have a right of access to the information that is held about them by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (although this is subject to some exemptions.) These requests are known as subject access requests. If you are seeking personal information about yourself you should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998 as this information is exempt from disclosure under the FoI regime.
If you want to make a subject access request please submit it in writing to:
and include the following information and documentation:
Proof of identity, such as a photocopy of your driver's license or passport, or two copies of recent utility bills.
Any information that will enable us to locate the data that you are seeking. For example, details of any contact that you may have had with the Committee in the past.
Please note that the Committee may charge for providing such information. Your request will be dealt with, in forty days of the Committee accepting the request.
Freedom of Information Requests
To view Freedom of Information Requests submitted to the Committee please click here.
