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About us
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 became law on 30 November 2000. The Act does two main things:
From 1 January 2005 a right of access under the Act applies to all types of recorded information held by the Department regardless of the date the information was created. The Act does, however, set out some exemptions to this right. Anyone will be able to make a request for information under the right of access. Unless the information falls under one of the specific exemptions in the Act, you will be entitled, on making a request under the right of access to this Department:
The Treasury publishes a lot of information on the decisions it makes and the background to those decisions. It is possible that the information you seek may already be published and we suggest that, before making a request, you should check whether we already publish the information you want. You can do this by looking at the Classes of Information in our Publication Scheme. or by using the Search facility on this Site, which is at the top of the screen.
If you cannot find what you want please write or e-mail to
Correspondence & Enquiry Unit 2/W1, Freedom of Information Section, HM Treasury 1 Horse Guards Road London SW1A 2HQ
The fax number for the Unit is 020 7270 4861
The e-mail address for the section is public.enquiries@hm-treasury.gov.uk
In making a request you must
It would be also be helpful if you were to give a telephone number in case we need to discuss your request with you.
The Act sets a time limit of 20 working days for dealing with a request for information. If you are dissatisfied with a decision we have made, or with our handling of a complaint you should write within two months to the Correspondence & Enquiry Unit as above.
The Act also provides for an appeal mechanism allowing you to apply to the Information Commissioner, who is responsible for administering and enforcing the Act (see below), for a decision as to whether the Department dealt with a specified request in accordance with the Act.
The Treasury may charge a fee for processing a Freedom of Information access request. The fee will be calculated in line with the fees regulations published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. Under the Act, fees may be charged in respect of the time spent efficiently locating or copying records, based on a standard hourly rate. No charges may apply in respect of the time spent by the Department in considering whether information can be released. If a fee is required, the limit of 20 working days will be extended by up to three months until the fee is paid.
Under section 19 of the Act all public authorities including government departments such as the Treasury are required to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme. The Publication Scheme must specify:
The purpose of the Publication Scheme is to identify classes of information, which are (or will be) published so that the information is readily available to the public, i.e. without the need for a request to be made under the Act, and to inform the public of the extent of material that is available.
The Publication Scheme lists the classes of information which are included, indicating where appropriate whether some information may be exempt, how the information is or will be published, and whether a charge will be made for providing it.
Information about HM Treasury’s publication scheme can be found here.
The Treasury’s supports the Scheme by listing the most recent information the department has published.
