This Act creates new rights of access to information, and creates a statutory right of access, provides for a more extensive scheme for making information publicly available and covers a much wider range of public authorities including: local government, National Health Service bodies, schools and colleges, the police and other public bodies and offices. The Act was also intended to supersede the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, which requires Government Departments and other public authorities under the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to make certain information available to the public and to release information in response to specific requests.
The provisions in the Act will be regulated by a Commissioner to whom the public will have direct access, rather than access only through the intervention of their Member of Parliament as under the Code. The Act will permit people to apply for access to documents, or copies of documents, as well as to the information itself.
