Freedom of Information Act 2000

47 General functions of Commissioner. U.K.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Commissioner to promote the following of good practice by public authorities and, in particular, so to perform his functions under this Act as to promote the observance by public authorities of—

(a) the requirements of this Act, and

(b) the provisions of the codes of practice under sections 45 and 46.

(2) The Commissioner shall arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as he considers appropriate of such information as it may appear to him expedient to give to the public—

(a) about the operation of this Act,

(b) about good practice, and

(c) about other matters within the scope of his functions under this Act,

and may give advice to any person as to any of those matters.

(3) The Commissioner may, with the consent of any public authority, assess whether that authority is following good practice.

(4) The Commissioner may charge such sums as he may F1 ... determine for any [F2 relevant] services provided by the Commissioner under this section.

[F3 (4A) In subsection (4) “ relevant services ” means—

(a) the provision to the same person of more than one copy of any published material where each of the copies of the material is either provided on paper, a portable disk which stores the material electronically or a similar medium,

(b) the provision of training, or

(c) the provision of conferences.

(4B) The [F4 Minister for the Cabinet Office] may by order amend subsection (4A).

(4C) An order under subsection (4B) may include such transitional or saving provision as the [F4 Minister for the Cabinet Office] considers appropriate.

(4D) The [F4 Minister for the Cabinet Office] must consult the Commissioner before making an order under subsection (4B).]

(5) The Commissioner shall from time to time as he considers appropriate—

(a) consult the Keeper of Public Records about the promotion by the Commissioner of the observance by public authorities of the provisions of the code of practice under section 46 in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of the M1 Public Records Act 1958, and

(b) consult the Deputy Keeper of the Records of Northern Ireland about the promotion by the Commissioner of the observance by public authorities of those provisions in relation to records which are public records for the purposes of the M2 Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923.

(6) In this section “good practice”, in relation to a public authority, means such practice in the discharge of its functions under this Act as appears to the Commissioner to be desirable, and includes (but is not limited to) compliance with the requirements of this Act and the provisions of the codes of practice under sections 45 and 46.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 47(4) repealed (1.9.2013) by Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (c. 9), ss. 107(3)(a)(i), 120, Sch. 10 Pt. 8 (with s. 97); S.I. 2013/1906, art. 3(d)

F2 Word in s. 47(4) inserted (1.9.2013) by Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (c. 9), ss. 107(3)(a)(ii), 120 (with s. 97); S.I. 2013/1906, art. 3(d)

F3 S. 47(4A)-(4D) inserted (1.9.2013) by Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (c. 9), ss. 107(3)(b), 120 (with s. 97); S.I. 2013/1906, art. 3(d)

F4 Words in s. 47(4B)-(4D) substituted (9.11.2016) by The Transfer of Functions (Elections, Referendums, Third Sector and Information) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/997), art. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 14(2)(m) (with art. 12)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 47 applied (with modifications) (1.1.2005) by The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/3391), reg. 16(5) (with reg. 3)

C2 S. 47(4B)-(4D) functions transferred (9.12.2015) by The Transfer of Functions (Information and Public Records) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1897), arts. 1(2), 4(1), (2)(i) (with art. 5)

Commencement Information

I1 S. 47 wholly in force at 30.11.2002; s. 47(2)-(6) in force at Royal Assent, see s. 87(1)(d); s. 47(1) in force at 30.11.2002 by S.I. 2002/2812, art. 2(c)

Marginal Citations

M1 1958 c. 51.

M2 1923 c. 20.