The Freedom of Information Act 2000 governs mainly access to information held by public authorities such as government authorities and agencies.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 any person can request and have access to information held by public authorities which previously they would not have.

This is of benefit to private companies who are, for example, considering tendering for contracts with public authorities, since they can request and must be granted (subject to some exemptions) access to a large amount of information in the relevant area and use it to strengthen their bids.

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See the article on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for further detail.

However, private companies which contract with public authorities are also made subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and may find that their confidential documents must be disclosed to the public.

In all the above cases, public authorities and private businesses should take advice on their obligations and rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.