The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act

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 support 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 duty to respond, how they handle requests under the FOI Act, and the time limits they have to meet.