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Commencement Timetable
November 2002
1 Implementation
timetable for the Act
The Lord Chancellor announced to the House of Lords on 13 November 2001
that the Freedom of Information Act would be implemented in stages. The
publication scheme provisions of the Act will be implemented first, on
a rolling programme, as described in section 3 below. The individual right
of access to information will be brought into force for all public authorities
in January 2005; eleven months before the deadline set out in section
87(3) of the Act.
The following section sets out the provisions of the Act that are already
in force, while section 3 gives a more detailed timetable for bringing
into force the remaining provisions of the Act.
2 Provisions of the Act already in force
The Freedom of Information Act received Royal assent on 30 November 2000.
The Act provides that all of its provisions must be in force by 30 November
2005. Those provisions of the Act already in force are, by and large,
those which are necessary to have in place in advance of implementation
of the Act's main provisions. The provisions in force include those which:
- Allow secondary legislation and codes of practice to be made under
the Act;
- Establish the office of the Information Commissioner and relate to
the appointment and period of office of the Information Commissioner;
- Allow the Information Commissioner to approve publication schemes
and to prepare and approve model publication schemes;
- Allow the Commissioner to give advice and to arrange for the dissemination
of information about the operation of the Act, about good practice,
and any other matters within the scope of his functions under the Act;
- Rename the Data Protection Tribunal as the Information Tribunal and
enable appointments to be made to it and allow designation of persons
to hear appeals against national security certificates under section
60 of the Act;
- Are needed as a consequence of the renaming of the Data Protection
Commissioner as Information Commissioner and the renaming of the Data
Protection Tribunal; and
- Require the Information Commissioner to lay an annual report before
Parliament on the exercise of his functions under the Act.
Under section 87(1) certain provisions of the Act came into force on Royal
Assent, i.e. 30 November 2000.
These are listed in the table opposite:
| Provisions |
Effect |
| Sections 3 to 7, and Schedule 1
|
Defines meaning of a public authority; defines a publicly owned
company for the purposes of the Act ; and confers upon the Lord
Chancellor certain order making powers, for example, to amend by
order the list of public authorities in Schedule 1, and to designate
as a public authority for the purposes of the Act bodies (or persons)
exercising functions of a public nature or providing under contract
with a public authority a service whose provision is a function
of that authority.
|
| Section 8 |
Defines what 'a request for information' means for the purposes
of the Act. |
| Schedule 2, paragraphs 2 and 17 to 22 (and section 18(4) so far
as relating to the provisions of Schedule 2 brought into force) |
Provisions consequential on the renaming of the Data Protection
Commissioner and Tribunal. |
| Sections 19 (insofar as relating to approval of publication schemes)
and 20 (insofar as relating to approval and preparation by the Commissioner
of model publication schemes) |
Confers powers on the Commissioner to approve publication schemes
and approve and prepare model schemes, but these two sections are
not yet commenced insofar as to place the obligation on public authorities
to adopt and maintain schemes. |
| Section 47 (2) to (6) |
Places certain duties on and gives certain functions to the Commissioner,
including the giving of advice and the dissemination of information
about the operation of the Act, about good practice (a term which
is defined in subsection (6)), and other matters within his scope. |
| Section 49 |
Requires the Commissioner to lay an annual general report before
Parliament on the exercise of his functions under the Act and allows
him to lay before Parliament any other reports in respect of her
functions as he sees fit. |
| Schedule 5, paragraph 4 (and section 67 so far as relating paragraph
4 of Schedule 5) |
Inserts a new paragraph 3A in Schedule 1 to the Public Records
Act 1958 which confers a power to extend the meaning of 'public
records'. |
| Schedule 6, paragraph 8 (and section 73 so far as relating to
that provision) |
Extends a transitional exemption in paragraph 2(1) of Schedule
14 to the Data Protection Act 1998. |
| Section 74 |
Confers power on the Secretary of State to make provision relating
to environmental information to implement the Convention on Access
to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access
to Justice in Environmental Matters ('the Aarhus Convention'). |
| Section 75 |
Confers power on the Lord Chancellor to amend or repeal enactments
prohibiting disclosure
of information. |
| Sections 78 to 85 |
Various miscellaneous and supplemental provisions. |
| Part I of Schedule 8 (and section 86 so far as relating to that
part of Schedule 8) |
Repeal coming into force. |
| Section 87 |
Commencement. |
| 'and so much of any other provision of the Act as confers power
to make any order, regulations or code of practice.' |
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Certain other provisions came into force on 30 January 2001 (see section
87(2) of the Act). They are:
| Provisions |
Effect |
| Section 18 (1) |
Renames the Data Protection Commissioner as Information Commissioner. |
| Schedule 2: paragraphs 1(1), 3(1), 4, 6, 7, 8(2), 9(2), 10(a),
13(1) and(2), 14(a), 15(1) and (2) (and section 18(4) as far as
relating to those provisions of Schedule 2) |
Provisions consequential on renaming the Data Protection Commissioner
as Information Commissioner. |
| Section 76 and Schedule 7 |
Provides for the exchange of information between the Commissioner
and specified public
sector ombudsmen. |
| Part II of Schedule 8 (and section 86 so far as relating to that
Part) |
Lists repeals coming into force. |
Section 87(3) and (4) of the Act provides that the remaining provisions
of the Act shall come into force five years after the date of Royal
Assent (i.e. would come into force on 30 November 2005) unless they
have already been brought into force by commencement order(s). There
is flexibility to allow different commencement dates for different purposes
within the five year period and allowance for savings and transitional
provisions to be made.
The first commencement order, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Commencement
No. 1) Order 2001 (SI 2001 No. 1637 (C56)) was made, and came into force
on 14 May 2001. It brought into force certain, for the most part, technical
provisions which are needed in advance of implementation of the Act's
main provisions. They are:
| Provisions |
Effect |
| Section 18(5), (6) and (7) |
Provisions relating to the appointment and period of office of
the Information Commissioner. |
| Section 18(2) and (3), Schedule 2, paragraphs 1(2), 3(2), 5, 8(1),
9(1), 11, 12, 13(3),14(b) and (15)3; and section 18(4) as far as
relating to those provisions |
Provisions renaming the Data Protection Tribunal as the Information
Tribunal and making consequential provision. |
| Schedule 2 Paragraph 16 and section 18(4) as far as relating to
that provision; Schedule 4, paragraphs 1 and 4, and section 61 as
far as relating to
those provisions |
Provisions enabling appointments to be made to the Information
Tribunal of lay members to represent the interests of individuals
and public authorities under the Act, and provisions enabling the
designation of persons who are capable of hearing appeals under
section 60(1) or (4) of the Act and provisions enabling the Secretary
of State to make rules for regulating the exercise of the rights
of appeal conferred by section 57(1) and (2) and section 60(1) and
(4) of the Act. |
| Schedule 6, paragraph 1 amends section 7(3) of the DPA to make
its wording consistent with section 1(3) of FOIA; Schedule 6, paragraph
6 amends the exemption in paragraph 3(b) of Schedule 7 to the DPA
to include a reference to 'dignity' as well as honours; Schedule
6, paragraph 7 amends paragraph 10 of Schedule 7 to the DPA to correct
the reference to the Scottish equivalent of legal professional privilege;
and section 73 as far as relating to these provisions in Schedule
6 |
Provisions making minor amendments to the Data Protection Act
1998. |
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| 3 Timetable
for bringing the rest of the provisions into force
The timetable for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act
was announced by the Lord Chancellor to the House of Lords on 13 November
2001. (Copies of the timetable were placed in the libraries of both Houses).
The publication scheme provision of the Act will be implemented first,
on a rolling programme, starting this month and finishing in June 2004
(see table opposite). Subsequently, agreement was reached with the devolved
administration in Northern Ireland that implementation of the publication
scheme provisions of the Act for devolved bodies in Northern Ireland will
follow a similar pattern. It has been agreed with the National Assembly
for Wales that implementation of these provisions for the majority of
Assembly-Sponsored Public bodies will take place this month.
The individual right of access will be brought into force for all public
authorities in January 2005.
| November 2002 |
Central Government (except the Crown Prosecution Service and the
Serious Fraud Office), Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and
Assembly sponsored public bodies, non- departmental public bodies
currently subject to the Code of Practice on Access to Government
Information. (Part I sections (1),(2),(3), and (5) and some of Part
VI of Schedule 1) |
| February 2003 |
Local Government (except police authorities). (Part II) |
| June 2003 |
Police, police authorities, Crown Prosecution Service, Serious
Fraud Office, Armed Forces. (Part V not relating to Northern Ireland
and Part I (6)) |
| October 2003 |
Health Service.
(Part III relating to England and Wales) |
| February 2004 |
Schools, Universities, remaining NDPBs. (Part IV relating to England
and Wales and some of Part VI) |
| June 2004 |
Remaining public authorities. |
3.1 The
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2002
A second commencement order has been made which will bring further provisions
of the Act into force on 30 November.
This order implements the first three stages of the timetable and is an
important step in implementing the substantive provisions of the Act.
The provisions that have come into force will:
- place a duty on those bodies listed to comply with the publication
scheme provisions of the Act (from
30 November, 28 February 2003 and 30 June 2003 respectively for the
bodies indicated); and
- ensure that the publication scheme provisions can
be enforced, insofar as they apply to any authority at any time.
Various other provisions have been brought into force, including those
which:
- place a duty on the Information Commissioner to promote the following
of good practice;
- allow the codes of practice under sections 45 and 46 to be issued,
and allow the Information Commissioner to issue practice recommendations
relating to provisions in the code of practice under section 45 where
they concern publication schemes; and
- allow the functions of the Advisory Council on Public Records to
be extended to include matters relating to the application of the Freedom
of Information Act to public records which are also historical records.
The provisions are listed in detail on the next page:
• Commenvement on 30 December 2002
| Provisions |
Effect |
| Sections 19(5) to (7), and 20 insofar as they are not already
in force |
Provisions concerning any of the Commissioner's powers and duties
relating to publication schemes and model publication schemes not
already in force. |
| Sections 45 and 46 insofar as they are not already in force |
The requirement on the Lord Chancellor to issue codes of practice
relating to the discharge of public authorities' functions under
Part I of the Act and records management. |
| Section 47(1) |
Duty on the Information Commissioner to promote the following
of good practice by
public authorities. |
Sections 48(1) and (2), 54, 55 and Schedule 3, so far as they
relate to:
the issue of practice recommendations, and
the issue and enforcement of information notices, relating
to the conformity with the code of practice under section 45 of
the practice of public authorities in relation to the exercise
of their functions under the publication scheme provisions.
|
Allows the Commissioner to issue practice recommendations if an
authority does not appear to be conforming with provisions relating
to publication schemes in the section 45 code. Also allows the Commissioner
to issue an information notice to determine whether an authority
is conforming with publication scheme provisions in the s45 code. |
| Sections 51, 52 and 54, 55 and Schedule, so far as they relate
to the enforcement of the requirements on public authorities under
the publication scheme provisions and section 56. |
Allows the Commissioner to issue information and enforcement notices
and other enforcement provisions as far as is necessary to allow
the Commissioner to enforce authorities' compliance with obligations
in respect of publication schemes. |
| Sections 57(2) 58, 59 and 61(2), Paragraph 10(b) of Schedule 2
(and section 18(4) insofar as it is not already in force), Paragraph
3 of Schedule 4 (and section 61(1) so far as relating to that provision) |
Provisions to enable appeals to be heard by the Information Tribunal
and related provisions. |
| Paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 (and section 67 so far as relating to
that provision) |
Makes minor amendment to the Public Records Act 1958 by extending
the functions of the Advisory Council on Public Records to include
matters relating to the application of freedom of information to
public records which are historical records. |
| Section 72 |
Makes minor amendment to the Data Protection Act necessary as
a consequence of the Freedom of Information Act. |
| Section 88 |
Short title and extent. |
| Sections 19 (1) to (4) and 20 (2) |
Publication scheme provisions of the Act.
(See below) |
• Publication Scheme Provisions
The publication scheme provisions place a duty on public authorities to
adopt and maintain a scheme which relates to the publication of information
by the authority, which has been approved by the Commissioner; to publish
information in accordance with the scheme, and to review the scheme from
time to time.
The publication scheme provisions of the Act are contained in sections
19 (1) to (4). The second commencement order will bring the publication
scheme provisions into force on 30 November 2002 for the public authorities
listed in:
Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act (government departments),
except for the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office.
Paragraphs 2, 3 and 5 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act (The House of
Commons, the House of Lords and the National Assembly for Wales).
Part I of Schedule 1 to the second commencement order (some of the bodies
and offices listed in Part VI of Schedule 1 and bodies added to Part VI
by order under section 4 of the Act, being either bodies and offices subject
to the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information or Assembly-sponsored
public bodies as agreed with the National Assembly for Wales). Part II
of Schedule 1 to the second commencement order (some of the bodies and
offices listed in Part VII of Schedule 1 and bodies added to Part VII
by order under section 4, as agreed with the devolved administration in
Northern Ireland).
• Commencement on 28 February 2003
The second commencement order will bring the publication scheme provisions
into force on 28 February for the public authorities listed in:
- II of Schedule 1 to the Act (Local Government).
- Schedule 2 to the second commencement order (small number of NDPBs/ASPBs/public
bodies in Northern Ireland).
• Commencement On 30 JUNE 2003
The second commencement order will bring the publication scheme provisions
into force on 30 June 2003 for:
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The Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office.
-
Public authorities listed in
(i) Paragraph 6 of Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act (Armed Forces),
(ii) Paragraphs 57-64 of Schedule 1 to the Act (Police),
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Other bodies listed in Schedule 3 to the second commencement order:(the
Central Police Training and Development Authority, the National Crime
Squad, the Police Information and Technology Organisation, and the Service
Authority for the National Crime Squad).
3.2 Further Commencement Orders
Further commencement orders are planned in order to bring the publication
scheme provisions of the Act into force as follows (in line with the announced
programme).
For commencement on 30 October 2003 - Part III of Schedule 1 to
the Act (Health Service):
For commencement on 29 February 2004 - Part IV and some of Parts
VI and VII of Schedule 1 to the Act (schools, universities etc, remaining
NDPBs and other public bodies and offices including publicly-owned companies
as defined in section 6 of the Act).
For commencement on 30 June 2004 - all remaining authorities, predominantly
bodies designated under section 5 of the Act.
As stated above, provisions relating to the individual right of access
(which effectively means all provisions not already commenced or commenced
in full) will come into force on 1 January 2005.
The Freedom of Information Act will thus be fully implemented by January
2005, eleven months before the date set out in section 87(3) of the Act.
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