The Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) 2000 was introduced to ensure that public authorities in receipt of taxpayers’ money are transparent about how they exercise that authority. Under the FoIA, public authorities in England,Wales and Northern Ireland must routinely make public certain types of information about their activities, including accounts, policies and procedures, and must respond when members of the general public request information from them – a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives the same rights to people in Scotland.