Having been involved in some of the preparation and planning for the introduction of FoI can I just add a few additional comments to the above notes from BEagle.
The public authority must say if it has information requested
Agree
If it does, applicants have the right to be told that information
Unless an exemption applies, in which case you must be told which exemption is being relied upon to refuse your request.
All requests must be in writing
E-mail is acceptable.
Authority must respond within 20 working days
Yes
Authorities have right to charge for providing information
Only if the cost of providing the information will be above £450. It is anticipated that most requests will not attract a fee and the legal guidance specifically states that any fee must not be in place to put off requestors.
Finally similar legislation to this was enacted in the Republic of Ireland a few years ago and once it settled down studies found that some 60% of requests for information came from staff within an organisation. Whilst I’m not suggesting that we all use this as a tool to get answers to those difficult questions from Handbrake House, there is always that option. Remember you do not need to say why you want a particular piece of information or give any justification for requesting it.