Freedom of Information Act 2000 
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The Freedom of Information Act 2000 became law on 30 November 2000.
The Act does two main things:
1. It gives applicants a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, although there are some procedural and substantive limitations
2. It imposes an obligation on public authorities, to produce and maintain a Publication Scheme approved by the independent Information Commissioner.
As a Limited Company wholly owned by HM Treasury, UKFI is meeting the Freedom of Information Act requirements set out above.
How to apply for information
UKFI publish information on the decisions we take on our website, and more information on our investee companies can be found on their websites. It is possible that the information you seek may already be published and, before making a request, you should check whether the information you require is already published.
If you cannot find what you want, you can submit a request by letter to:
UKFI
2nd Floor
Oceanic House
1a Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5BG
Alternatively, you can email us on our enquiries address:
Contact page
In making a request you need to:
- provide your name and address for replies
- describe as clearly as possible the information you are seeking
It is also helpful if you:
- label the enquiry as ‘Freedom of Information Request’
- give a telephone number, in case we need to discuss your request with you.
The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is the UKs independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information. His responsibilities include guidance to the public and the ICO has published a Charter for Responsible Requesters which can be found on the ICO website.
Charter for Responsible Requesters
How we will handle requests
We will provide advice and assistance wherever that would be helpful.
We will acknowledge receipt of your request.
We have a statutory obligation to reply within 20 working days.
We will tell you whether or not we hold the information requested.
We will provide the information requested unless:
- the information is otherwise accessible to you, or
- to extract the information would take more than three and a half working days – the cost limit under section 12 of the Act - or
- the information is covered by another absolute exemption under the Act – e.g. disclosure would be against the law - or
- we argue that in all the circumstances it is against the public interest to disclose it.
If the last judgment is complex, the Act provides for extra time to be taken and we would notify you if that is needed.
We will keep you notified of progress where appropriate, and justify any refusal to you.
Requests for information related to environmental matters is likely to be dealt with under the Environmental Information Regulations; these provide very similar rights.
Requests for your own personal data will be dealt with as ‘subject access requests’ under the Data Protection Act.
Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with the handling or the outcome of your request, you should write within two months to the UKFI enquiries unit as above.
We will ensure a fresh look at the entire case and write to you to explain the outcome. We will also tell you how to take your concerns to the Information Commissioner, if you remain dissatisfied.
Publication Scheme
Under Section 19 of the Act all public authorities are required to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme.
In 2008 the Information Commissioner produced a new model publication scheme for Departments. You can read more about the Information Commissioner’s intentions on his website.
The Information Commissioner has recognised that, since 2002, structured websites have come to perform much of the function that the Publication Scheme was originally intended to fulfill. For UKFI, the public website is the source of all information covered by the model publication scheme.
The model publication scheme defines Classes of Information that Authorities should publish, as follows:
- Who we are and what we do.
- What we spend and how we spend it.
- What our priorities are and how we are doing.
- How we make decisions.
- Our policies and procedures.
- Lists and registers.
- The services we offer.
The UKFI Annual Report will be the principal source for strategic information under the first four classes, which can be found on our publications page: Publications
Further information about how we make decisions and our policies and procedures is contained in the ‘About us’ section of the website and in our introductory publication which includes our Framework Document for how we will work with HM Treasury and our Investee Companies.
We do not have statutory responsibilities for Lists and Registers, and UKFI is not generally directly involved in service provision. FOI service is an exception, where we will provide services as set out above.
UKFI Management Changes
UKFI today announces that Sir David Cooksey is retiring as Chairman. Robin Budenberg will become Chairman in his place and Jim O'Neil (currently responsible for UKFI's investments in Lloyds and RBS) will become Chief Executive. download [18,8 KB]
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UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) today confirms the completion of the sale of 100% of the share capital of Northern Rock plc (Northern Rock) by HM Treasury to Virgin Money Holdings (UK) Limited (Virgin Money) download [15,5 KB]