Northern Ireland Water 
 
Public Information Leaflet 
 
on 
 
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 
 
 
Note:  This guide is an overview of some of the main provisions of the Act and 
should not be regarded as a legal interpretation. 
 
 
1.  What does the Freedom of Information Act do?  
 
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives everyone the right to request 
information from Public Authorities.  The FOI Act means that, from 1st January 
2005, you can get information to help you to better understand how NI Water 
works, how we spend public money, and how and why we make our decisions. 
 
You can also get information under: 
 
•  The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) which, amongst other things, gives 
individuals access to their own personal information. 
 
•  The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs) which gives 
people access to environmental information. The EIRs apply to 
“environmental information” held by organisations that perform functions 
of a public nature. 
 
2.  How do I get information about NI Water under the FOI Act? 
 
If you have access to the Internet you can get information on the NI Water 
website at www.niwater.com. Alternatively you can write to us at the address on 
the letter accompanying this leaflet. 
 
3.  How long does it take to get information?  
 
In most cases NI Water must respond to your request within 20 working days of 
receiving it and if we cannot, we will explain why and let you know when you will 
receive a reply.  The timescale can be extended where: 
 
•  A “qualified” exemption applies and we need to consider the public interest. 
•  We are awaiting payment of a fee by you. 
 
Sometimes we might need to contact you in order to clarify exactly what 
information you are interested in.  It will help us to process your request more 
quickly if you can be as specific as possible about what information it is you want.  
Please make sure that you provide us with your name and address and a contact 

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telephone number. 
 
4.  Is there a cost for getting information? 
  
This depends on a number of factors including the volume of material requested.  
Responses to enquiries that cost NI Water less than £450 to process1 will 
normally be provided free of charge, although there may be a small charge for the 
costs of photocopying, printing and postage.  NI Water has the right to refuse to 
respond to a request that is estimated to cost more than £450 to process unless 
the request is for information covered by the EIRs. In that case, unless the 
request is deemed ‘manifestly unreasonable’, NI Water has to process the 
request if you are prepared to pay the costs.  If the cost is greater than £450 and 
you agree to pay these costs, NI Water will normally provide you with the 
information once the fee has been paid. 
 
5.  What happens if the information I want is not available?   
 
The FOI Act does not require us to gather information that is not already held, but 
we are required to assist you with your request.  We will contact you and tell you 
what information we do hold that might help to answer your query or suggest 
another Public Authority that may hold the information you are looking for. 
 
6.  Can I have any information at all? 
 
The FOI Act allows you access to almost all non-personal, non-environmental 
information that a public body holds.  But there are some things that cannot be 
disclosed to the public.  For example, information about national security, law 
enforcement or personal information – although you can obtain your own 
personal information through the Data Protection Act. Personal information 
supplied by, or in relation to, third parties may also be available under the Act in 
certain circumstances. NI Water is not obliged to send you information that is 
already available elsewhere (e.g. in our publication scheme at www.niwater.com 
or available for purchase e.g. at The Stationery Office. 
 
7.  What if I am refused information?  
 
We will tell you if information is being withheld and why.  We will also tell you who 
you should contact to request an internal review if you are not happy with our 
decision.  And if you are still not happy after the internal review you can request a 
review by the Information Commissioner (see details below).  Please contact us 
first if you are not happy with our response and tell us why you believe that we 
are wrongly withholding information from you. 
 
8.  Where can I get more information about the FOI Act? 
   
You can get more information about FOI from the Office of the Information 
Commissioner.  The Commissioner’s details are: 
 
Website:  
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk 
Phone:  
01625 545 700 
Email:  
xxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx 
Post:  
Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, 
CHESHIRE SK9 5AF 
                                                                  
1 Includes the cost of finding, sorting, reviewing and extracting the material 

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