Who can I request information from?
WhatDoTheyKnow covers requests to 46,353 authorities, including:
- Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 3809 requests
- Kent County Council 2743 requests
- British Broadcasting Corporation 4288 requests
- Department for Work and Pensions 13567 requests
- Ministry of Defence 8043 requests
Looking for an EU Authority?
You can request documents directly from EU Institutions at our sister site AskTheEU.org . Find out more .
What information has been released?
WhatDoTheyKnow users have made 980,442 requests, including:
-
General Register Office answered a request about Birth certificate
23 minutes ago
-
Bedford Borough Council answered a request about IT Infrastructure
32 minutes ago
-
University College London answered a request about English Q300 offer stats by home and international applicants
about 3 hours ago
-
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust answered a request about Off-Framework Usage in the Past 12 Months’
about 4 hours ago
-
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust answered a request about Respiratory Diagnostic Equipment
23 minutes ago
What is Freedom of Information?
Make a request for information to a UK public authority.
By law, they have to respond.
The Freedom of Information Act, also known as FOI gives you the right to request recorded information from public authorities.
As well as documents and emails, it also covers things like spreadsheets, presentations, maps, videos and photographs.
By law requests have to be answered promptly and within 20 working days.
In most cases information should be released, but various exemptions allow authorities to withhold information.
How do I use Freedom of Information?
From coach drop off points to national borders; modern slavery to council sell-offs, Freedom of Information is a tool that everyone can use. Individual or community group; journalist or campaigner. National or local; every day or now and then. Here are just a few of the ways that it can help…
🔍 Find the evidence: Survey responses, research reports and board papers can help you to uncover the truth behind decisions and public statements.
⚖️ Compare and contrast: Compare the situation in your local area with what’s happening in other parts of the country and highlight disparities or similarities.
💰 Follow the money: Contracts, invoices and budget information let you see where public money goes, ensuring greater accountability for how funds are allocated and spent.
🧩 Fill in the gaps: You can ask a group of authorities to build or extract a dataset that didn't exist. This can fill knowledge gaps and improve public understanding of specific issues.
🤔 Understand why: Meeting minutes, policy papers and internal correspondence can help you to understand why important decisions were taken, and who is accountable for those decisions.
☀️ Promote openness: Asking for datasets can help to show that there is public demand to see it, which might persuade the authority to publish it themselves without needing to be asked.
Read our case studies for some great examples of how others have put these ideas to use.
How does WhatDoTheyKnow help?
🔀 Find the right authority: A database of 46,000+ public bodies, kept up to date by a team of staff and volunteers.
🗂️ Public archive: A permanent, searchable, public record of hundreds of thousands of information requests and responses.
✍️ Write your request: Inline guidance and a collection of help pages to help write your request.
🤖 Automate bureaucracy: Built in assistance and reminders to manage your request from submission to completion.
🏟️ Correspond in public: Requests and responses are automatically published online with proof of delivery to hold authorities accountable to respond.
🛑 Refusal advice: Encouragement, support, guidance and snippets to help challenge refusals at internal review, regulator appeal and tribunal(soon).
Learn more about WhatDoTheyKnow. Want to know something? Start your own request →
WhatDoTheyKnow is a project of mySociety, a not for profit that creates technology, research and data to empower citizens to take their first steps towards greater civic participation.
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Read postOur videos about Freedom of Information
Civic Tech Surgery: Accessing quality information
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Reforming Freedom of Information: mySociety policy paper launch event
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Workshop: What can you do with FOI?
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How many people use Freedom of Information? The numbers blog post
More details on our FOI polling, and how it compares with other polling and estimates of FOI use.
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mySociety response to “Call for Evidence: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation”
Response to Ministry of Justice consultation
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Exploring information about Freedom of Information in the UK
Explore FOI statistics for UK central government and Scotland.
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Prioritising FOI complaints
Draft response to ICO consultation on how to prioritise FOI complaints
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Network Rail: how accounting definitions of control can expand FOI/EIR coverage
Appealing to the Court of Accountants.
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