Guidance

Accessing information from any part of DfT

Published 14 March 2012

© Crown copyright 2012

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accessing-information-from-any-part-of-dft/accessing-information-from-any-part-of-dft

Introduction

This document provides guidance on what to consider before you make a Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act) or Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) request to central Department for Transport (DfT) or a DfT executive agency.

Personal information

If you want to see a copy of any personal information we might hold on you, our information charter explains how to make a request under data protection law.

Is the information already available?

The department is not required to provide information that is already reasonably accessible to you from elsewhere. That applies whether the information is on our own website or somewhere else in the public domain.

The department places great importance on transparency and proactively publishes as much information as possible on its website. In particular, a wide range of information and data is available at:

There are direct links to the websites of transport agencies and non-departmental public bodies:

The DfT publication scheme specifies the categories of information that the department and it agencies publish or intend to publish, how to obtain that information, and whether any payment is required.

Be clear about what you want

If the information you are interested in has not already been published on our website, please make an FOI or EIR request to us. It will help us deal with your request speedily if you:

  • clearly explain what you want to find out about
  • be as specific as you can; if you want a particular piece of information please say so in your request
  • say whether the information you want relates to a specific timescale
  • do not ask for information that is already on our website

If you need background material, please bear in mind that our record keeping is extensive and information about the subject you have requested may be contained within a large number of documents. Requests asking DfT for ‘everything you have’ about a subject will mean that we have to contact you to clarify your request, and may even result in us refusing the request on cost grounds.

Please also remember that we are only required under FOI to provide recorded information.

If you have a query about information we have published, it will often be quicker for you to contact the relevant part of our department by phone.

Valid ways to make your request

You do not need to quote any legislation in your request – it is for us to know which law applies and to answer your request accordingly.

Requests under the FOI Act must be made in writing, eg letter, email or fax. Requests under the EIR can also be made verbally, e.g over the phone. You should include the following with both types of request:

  • your name and address (physical or electronic) for correspondence
  • a clear statement of the information you are requesting
  • a contact telephone number in case we need to discuss your request
  • the format in which you wish to receive the information

Format in which the information may be disclosed - electronic, hard copy, or a visit to see it

Most of the information the department holds is stored electronically and will be disclosed to you in PDF (portable document format). If you need information to be supplied in a different format, and it is reasonable to release the information in that way, the department will do its best to meet your request.

Some material, in particular material that is over ten years old, may only be available on paper, or as photos maps or plans. While it will usually be possible to provide scanned copies of such information, there may be circumstances (for example in the case of plans that are larger than A3 size) where it may not be possible to disclose information to you in an electronic format.

In a limited number of circumstances, due to the volume, size or format of our recorded material, the only practical way the department can make it available to you is by allowing you to come and view it in person. The department and its agencies have facilities for such visits, and where necessary we will be pleased to agree a mutually convenient time with you.

What you can request

You may request any information held by or on behalf of the department and recorded in any form. This includes paper records (including hand written notes), information held on computers, other electronically held information (audio and video recordings), plans, maps, and photographs.

You are entitled to the information contained in documents, not to the documents themselves. However, where appropriate and convenient we may choose to provide a copy of the document rather than extracting the information from it.

Please note that the FOI Act and the EIR do not require public authorities to create new information or give an opinion or judgment that is not already recorded.

Environmental information

If your request is wholly or partly for ‘environmental information’ the department is required to treat that part of your request as a request under the EIR. For example:

  • the state of the elements of the environment, such as air and atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites including wetlands, coastal and marine areas, biological diversity and its components, including genetically modified organisms, and the interaction among these elements
  • factors, such as substances, energy, noise, radiation or waste, including radioactive waste, emissions, discharges and other releases into the environment, affecting or likely to affect the elements of the environment referred to in (a)
  • measures (including administrative measures), such as policies, legislation, plans, programmes, environmental agreements, and activities affecting or likely to affect the elements and factors referred to in (a) and (b) as well as measures or activities designed to protect those elements
  • reports on the implementation of environmental legislation
  • cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used within the framework of the measures and activities referred to in (c)
  • the state of human health and safety, including the contamination of the food chain, where relevant, conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures inasmuch as they are or may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment referred to in (a) or, through those elements, by any of the matters referred to in (b) and (c)

Are you asking for too much?

If you are asking for a lot of material, it may be more than we can manage without it significantly impacting on our other work.

Our policy, along with all other government departments, is to release as much information as possible without charging a fee. But if it will cost the department more than £600 to deal with an FOI request, or if we consider under the EIRs that it would be “manifestly unreasonable” to do so, we do not have to respond to it.

Factors we are allowed to take into account in deciding whether a request exceeds the cost limit are:

  • checking whether the information is held
  • locating the information or documents containing the information
  • retrieving such information or documents
  • extracting information from documents

The rule of thumb is that if it takes more than three and a half days of staff time to deal with your request, it will exceed the £600 FOI cost limit and we may refuse to answer it. If your request is refused on cost grounds, we will advise you how best to make a fresh narrower request that can be met within the cost limit.

For requests that are less than the £600 ceiling, we may charge the full costs of disbursements (photocopying, printing and postage). If we intend to do this we will inform you, and we do not have to provide the information if you fail to pay within three months.

For independent advice on how best to make a request see:

Where to send your request

The central department and agencies each have separate record keeping systems and processes for handling FOI and EIR requests. To ensure that you get the quickest response, it is important that you send your request to the right part of the department.

The online request form gives you the option to select where you want your request to go to, or you can email your request direct.

How to make a request direct to any part of the DfT family

If you want information that is about supporting ministers, new legislation, or the development of transport policy for aviation, rail, roads, or shipping transport, then your request should be made to the central department.

Requests for information held by the central department will be dealt with by the staff who are responsible for the subject matter on a day to day basis. If your request covers more than one subject it will be split and handled by different groups of staff, but the response will be a single co-ordinated one.

If the information you need is not about supporting ministers, new legislation, or the development of transport policy, it is more likely to be the responsibility of one of DfT’s 5 agencies.

DfT’s agencies deal with members of the public, businesses, and other organisations for vehicle licences, road tax, driving tests, heavy goods vehicle and passenger vehicle licensing, coastguard operations, highway matters and in many other ways. Information about many of these ‘transactions’ is available via ‘Driving and transport’.

You may want information from more than one part of the department, for example from more than one of our agencies, or from all of the agencies and the central department. If so, we will usually co-ordinate the handling of your request and provide you with a single response. There may be times, however, when it would be quicker for you and more efficient for us for each agency to deal with your request separately. Please bear in mind that the wider ranging you make your request, the more likely it is that the cost limit will apply.

If you send the same request to more than one part of DfT, or to another government department, please tell us. This will help us ensure that your request is properly co-ordinated.

There are other public bodies, independent of DfT, who will also hold transport-related information.

Most information that is over 10 years old is kept by The National Archive. It is worth trying them first for older material.

Remember: if your request is not sent to the correct authority it may be delayed while it is transferred to the right place.

What DfT will do when we receive your request

We will acknowledge your request as soon as we can.

We will let you know if your request should be dealt with under the EIR or data protection regulations instead of, or as well as, the FOI Act. Where you are asking for information that we routinely give out (such as leaflets, contact details etc), we may, in the interests of efficiency, just send you the information and not treat your request as a formal FOI or EIR request.

The law obliges us to answer your request promptly and at most (subject to limited exceptions) within 20 working days from receiving it. If, in the limited circumstances where we are permitted to do so, we need to extend the timescale to give proper consideration to your request, we will let you know.

If it is not clear to us what information you want, we will need to contact you. We will do this by telephone, email or letter depending on the contact details that you supplied when you sent us your request. Our aim is to be helpful and to fulfil your request as completely as we can. The 20 working day deadline will only start when it is clear to us what you require.

If your request relates to a person/company other than yourself or where disclosure of the information you are requesting could affect the interests of another person, we may need to consult that third party before responding to your request. We will follow the guidance in section 4 (‘Consultation with third parties’) of the Freedom of Information code of practice where it applies.

If DfT does not hold the information requested, we will let you know and if we think it may be held by another public authority will normally suggest that you redirect your request to them.

Your rights under the FOI Act

On receipt of a valid request for information the DfT must:

  • inform you in writing whether it holds the information requested (known as the ‘duty to confirm or deny’) and if so
  • communicate that information to you

DfT is not required to comply with these obligations where one or more exemptions apply.

Any individual or company may make a request, and you do not need to be a UK citizen or living in the UK to do so.

DfT does not need to know why you are making the request or what you intend to do with the information. We will not impose conditions on the use or further disclosure of the information we disclose to you, although you should be aware that the information may be subject to copyright protection.

The FOI Act is enforced by the Information Commissioner.

When our FOI Act obligations do not apply

The FOI Act contains a number of exemptions from these obligations, most of which involve the application of a public interest test.

If your request is refused, our reply will identify which exemption (or exemptions) we are relying on. Where applicable, we will explain why we have decided that the public interest in withholding the information (or in neither confirming nor denying that we hold it) outweighs the public interest in disclosing it (or in confirming or denying that we hold it).

We are not obliged to comply with repeated or vexatious requests.

We are also not obliged to comply with requests that exceed the costs limit.

The EIR also contains a number of exemptions:

Your right to complain

Should you be unhappy with the outcome of an FOI or EIR request, you have the right to complain and we will conduct an internal review in accordance with the FOI Act Section 45 code of practice.

We will give you more details of your right to complain when we respond to your request. If you are dissatisfied with the results of DfT’s internal review, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Back to top