Freedom of information: A guide for business - Herbert Smith Freehills

Contents
FOI – what you need to know The legislation 4
Who has to provide information under FOIA and the EIR 4
What sort of information can people ask for 4
How a public authority must deal with a request 5
Grounds for refusing to disclose information – the exemptions/exceptions 5
What you can do if you are not satisfied with how an FOI request has been dealt with 6
FOI requests used in court Why and how do claimants use information requests 7
proceedings The exemptions for legally privileged information 7
categories of information Information provided to regulators 8
which might be at risk of Information relating to public tenders or contracts with public authorities 9
disclosure under FOI legislation Information provided in the context of a public consultation 11
Information relating to planning procedures and proposed developments 11
Information relating to services provided by public authorities 12
Information relating to tax 12
Personal information 12
Practical tips How to protect your information from disclosure 14
How to use the legislation to get hold of information 14
Annex 1 main differences between FOIA and the EIR 15
Annex 2 flowchart: dealing with an FOI request 16
Annex 3 Table of exemptions under FOIA and EIR 16
Annex 4 confidential and commercially sensitive information 19
Cases on confidential/commercially sensitive information 19
A freedom of information guide for business 3