# 4.2 Freedom of information requests

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the public access to information held by public authorities. Public authorities must publish information about their activities, and members of the public are entitled to request information from them. This makes a freedom of information (FOI) request a valuable tool for policy researchers who want to obtain information from a public body.

Figure 13 Freedom of information requests are useful tools for policy researchers

The following activity will introduce you to FOI requests.

## Activity 6 How to access information from a public authority

You should allow yourself 20 minutes to do this activity.

Read the Information Commissioner’s Office article ‘How to access information from a public authority’. Then answer the following multiple choice questions.

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OpenLearn - Carrying out research for policy and advocacy work
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