Written question asked by Lord Ashcroft (Conservative) on Tuesday, 6 January 2015, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 January 2015. It was answered by Lord Faulks (Conservative) on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Freedom of Information

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a Freedom of Information request which would exceed the financial threshold can be validly submitted on the basis that the enquirer pays the excess so that the information is provided.

Answer: Public authorities may provide information in response to a request for information exceeding the “appropriate limit” in section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on the basis that the requester pays certain costs. The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 set out fees that may be charged in such cases under section 13 of the Act. However, it is entirely left to the discretion of the public authority whether or not to offer to comply on payment of such a fee.

Secondary information