Skip to main content
Home

"You can't handle the truth"

That’s what Jack Nicholson’s Col. Jessop said in ‘A Few Good Men’. But, when it comes to accessing information, we couldn’t disagree more.

Because privacy isn’t just about information you want to keep private. It’s also about information you want to see and understand, whether it’s about you or it affects you.

That’s a right protected in law. The introduction of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 gave everyone a legal right to request information, whether it’s how many speeding tickets your local police has issued, to hospital waiting lists and government policies.

Read on to find out how these laws have led to greater transparency into topics such as MP expenses, food hygiene ratings and sewage discharges. 

Five people stand outside Aldwych House. They look stern and serious. They're holding a turquoise banner that reads “Justice for Sub-Postmasters Alliance”. Underneath the heading there are three demands. Firstly, a full statutory inquiry, secondly a demand to identify and hold the individuals responsible to account and finally to fully recompensate the victims.

A series of seemingly random objects appear on a blue background. There is a white toilet seat, a tin of dog food, a corkscrew and a light bulb. A man is holding and reading a small pamphlet about the Millennium Bug. The pamphlet has series of cartoons on the front representing shopping, flying, using technology like washing machines and computers, using credit cards and shopping. The title reads what everyone should know about the Millennium bug.

A Food Standards Agency food hygiene rating poster. The black and green poster is stuck up in a doorway. This particular establishment has a five star food hygiene rating.