Introduction

The last two chapters have explored the FOIA – its key provisions and the exemptions available to justify non-disclosure of information, and highlighted comparable provisions from FOI laws around the world. Wherever an FOI officer plies their trade, the legislation itself is the primary source when establishing their organisation's obligations.

That said, the language used in legislation is not always easy to comprehend without assistance. Few FOI officers are fortunate enough to have benefitted from formal legal training of any kind. Very often even experienced lawyers struggle to interpret legislation that they encounter. The wording can be ambiguous, so that different readers understand the same provision in varying ways. Then there's the difference between the real world that most of us live in, and the world as set out in statute. Very often, situations arise that the drafters of legislation could not possibly have foreseen. With thousands of organisations having to comply with the FOIA in the UK, and millions of people able to use its provisions to make requests, it is inevitable that circumstances emerge that could not reasonably have been envisaged during the passage of the legislation.

Very often applicants disagree with how legislation has been interpreted, and ask ombudsmen (such as the Information Commissioner in the UK) or the courts to decide what should happen. Over (sometimes considerable) time their decisions clarify FOI laws – for the most part. Sometimes the decisions themselves are not easy to understand.

There are many situations that cannot be resolved simply by turning to a battered old copy of the FOI law. This book aims to be a resource that FOI officers can turn to for reliable assistance at times like these, but this chapter identifies where else FOI officers can turn to for help when they are unsure what is expected of them or their employer. Taken together with the relevant legislation, the resources discussed below constitute the FOI officer's toolkit.

Codes of practice

The FOIA requires the government to publish codes setting out good practice. Section 45 of the FOIA requires the relevant secretary of state (currently the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since machinery of government changes in 2015) to set out best practice for compliance with Part I of the Act in a code of practice.