From 1 January, we have all had access to information held by more than 100,000 public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – that includes government departments, schools, NHS trusts, police forces and local councils.
Anyone of any nationality and living anywhere in the world can make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Requests could be for anything that a public body holds, whether recorded in paper files, computer files, internal e-mails, audio or video recordings, brochures or photographs.
