How to hold power to account
The law gives everyone ways to find out what people in power are doing with public money and public office. These guides set out each one from the law itself and the official guidance, with links to the source for every rule.
- How to make a Freedom of Information request
Who you can ask, what to write, the 20 working day deadline, the £450 and £600 cost limits and what to do if you are refused, from GOV.UK and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- How to ask for environmental information (EIR)
Environmental Information Regulations 2004: ask by phone or in person, no name needed, 20 working days, a presumption in favour of disclosure and stronger rights over emissions data.
- How to get the information an organisation holds about you
Your right of access under Article 15 of the UK GDPR: no special wording needed, free, a one-month deadline, and requests on behalf of someone else.
- If a public body refuses or ignores your request
The escalation route for FOI and EIR requests: ask for a review, complain to the Information Commissioner, then appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days.
- How to check what people in power have declared
Councillors' registers of interests under the Localism Act 2011, and where to find the registers for MPs, peers, ministers, MSPs, Senedd members and MLAs.
- How to make a Freedom of Information request in Scotland
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002: 20 working days to answer, a review by the authority, then an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within six months.
- How to see your council's papers and accounts
Agendas and reports open five clear days before principal council meetings in England, and a 30 working-day window each year to inspect the accounts, contracts, invoices and receipts.
- Records you have a right to because of your role
Some rights belong only to people in a particular position: a dead patient's representative can see their health records, and a dismissed employee can demand written reasons within 14 days.
- How to escalate a complaint about government
Complain to the department first, then ask your MP to refer it to the ombudsman within 12 months. A petition with 10,000 signatures gets a government response; at 100,000 it is considered for debate.
- How to challenge a public body's decision in court
A judicial review claim must be filed promptly and in any event within three months of the grounds arising, or six weeks for planning decisions, and the parties cannot agree to extend that.
- Who to blow the whistle to
The official list of prescribed people and bodies you can report wrongdoing to and keep your legal protection.
- Check the public registers first
69 official registers of interests, donations, lobbying, contracts, ownership and sanctions.
Which route to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| Records held by a council, department, NHS body, school, police force or other public authority | A Freedom of Information request |
| Anything about pollution, emissions, land, planning or the environment, including from water and energy companies | An Environmental Information Regulations request |
| What an organisation, public or private, holds about you | A subject access request |
| What a councillor, MP, peer or minister has declared | Their register of interests |
| To challenge a refusal or a missed deadline | Review, complaint to the Information Commissioner, then the tribunal |
| To report wrongdoing at work and keep legal protection | A prescribed person or body |
| Records held by a Scottish public authority | A request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act |
| A council's meeting papers, contracts, invoices and receipts | Meeting papers and the annual inspection of accounts |
| A dead relative's health records, or the reasons you were dismissed | Rights that come with your role |
| To escalate a complaint about a government department, or make the government answer publicly | The ombudsman through your MP, or a petition |
| To challenge an unlawful decision by a public body | Judicial review, within three months at most |
These guides explain the rules; they are not legal advice. Report an error.