Why Is Freedom Of Information Act 1982 Important

Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Health and Social Care Act 2008, and Human Rights Act 1998

Data Protection Act 1998 – gives individuals the right to know what information is held about them, and those that processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which makes sure that personal information is fairly and lawfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate and up to date; not kept for longer than is necessary; processed in line with your rights; secure; not transferred to other countries without adequate protection;

The main intent is to protect individuals against misuse or abuse of information about them.”

Any individual has the right to obtain information stored about them at any given time.

Another piece of legislation that can affect the management of confidential information is the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Anyone is allowed to request information that has been recorded by any public-sector organisation, for example:

In addition, the freedom to information by government authorities must not exceedingly surpass the rights and privileges that citizens enjoy (Re and Richard, pg. 1887).

Information Commissioner’s Office (2012) Introduction to The Data Protection Act 1998. [Online] Available from: http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/library/Corporate/Research_and_reports/ico_presentation_EVOC_20120528.ashx [Accessed: 11th October 2013]

* Processed in line with the rights of individuals - this includes the right to be informed of all the information held about them, to prevent processing of their personal information for marketing purposes, and to compensation if they can prove they have been damaged by a data controller's non-compliance with the Act.

“This Act was introduced in January 2005 to promote transparency and accountability in the public sector.” Anyone may make a written request for information being held by a school. The schools have a duty to provide assistance. Some information may be protected due to confidentiality. Schools need to follow the guidance provided by the DCSF when handling requests for information.

The Data Protection Act 1988 – This act covers the rights of an individual. Written, confidentially, retrieval and handling of verbal information.

The Paperwork Reduction Act is a federal law of the United States of America that was designed to help reduce the burden of the amount of paperwork given to businesses and private individuals by the federal government. “The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-511, 94 Stat. 2812 (Dec. 11, 1980), codified in part at Subchapter I of Chapter 35 of Title 44 of the United States Code, 44 U.S.C. § 3501 through 44 U.S.C. § 3521, is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 that gave authority over the collection of certain information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Within the OMB, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) was established with specific authority to regulate matters regarding federal information and to establish information policies. These information policies were intended to reduce the total amount of paperwork handled by the United States government and the general public.” This act established the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget. It also creates procedural requirements for federal agencies that intend to give the public a recordkeeping or reporting requirement. For example, a federal agency would be required to inform the public on the value or importance of each field on a form. This act also states that all federal agencies must receive approval form the Office of Management and Budget before release any media or forms to be used in the collection of information

| |The data protection act gives individuals the right to see the information recorded about them and | |

I practical terms, applied to the FE and HE sector, data is usually related to enrolments,

The Freedom of information Act 2000 gives people the right to access recorded information for public sector organisations. The Act determines that it would be reasonable for the company to disclose policies surrounding HRM and certain types of data such as numbers of employees, diversity information, the pay of some employees (very senior staff), pay bands and details of expenses. Some personal information may be released providing it does not breach data protection laws

b) Freedom of Information Act (2000) – FOI ‘provides public access to information held by public authorities. It does this in two ways: public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities; and members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.’ (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information/what-is-the-foi-act/)