The Freedom of Information (Additional Public Authorities) Order 2003

Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 1882

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Freedom of Information (Additional Public Authorities) Order 2003

Made

17th July 2003

Laid before Parliament

21st July 2003

Coming into force

11th August 2003

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 4(1) and 4(6) and section 7(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000(1), and after consultation with the Secretary of State Northern Ireland(2) in accordance with section 4(7) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, hereby makes the following Order:

1.—(1)  This Order may be cited as the Freedom of Information (Additional Public Authorities) Order 2003 and shall come into force on 11th August 2003.

(2) In this Order, “the Act” means the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

2.  The bodies and offices listed in Schedule 1 to this Order shall be added to Part VI of Schedule 1 to the Act, at the appropriate place in each case.

3.  The bodies and offices listed in Schedule 2 to this Order shall be added to Part VII of Schedule 1 to the Act, at the appropriate place in each case.

Signed by the authority of the Lord Chancellor

Lord Filkin

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department for Constitutional Affairs

Dated 17th July 2003

Article 2

SCHEDULE 1

• The Adult Learning Inspectorate.

• The Advisory Committee on Telecommunications for the Disabled and Elderly.

• The Advisory Council on Historical Manuscripts.

• The Advisory Council on National Records and Archives.

• The Advisory Group on Medical Countermeasures.

• The Advisory Panel on Beacon Councils.

• The Air Quality Expert Group.

• The Business Incubation Fund Investment Panel.

• The Committee on Safety of Devices.

• Communications for Business.

• The Competition Service.

• The Disability Employment Advisory Committee.

• The Ethnic Minority Business Forum.

• The Financial Reporting Advisory Board.

• The Financial Services Authority.

• The General Teaching Council for England.

• The Government-Industry Forum on Non-Food Use of Crops.

• The Hearing Aid Council.

• The Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy.

• The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle Tuberculosis.

• The Integrated Administration and Controls System Appeals Panel.

• The Intellectual Property Advisory Committee.

• The Learning and Skills Council for England.

• The National Employment Panel.

• The National Forest Company.

• The Nuclear Research Advisory Council.

• The Office of Government Commerce.

• The Office of Manpower Economics.

• The Pesticide Residues Committee.

• The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

• The Small Business Council.

• The Small Business Investment Task Force.

• The Social Care Institute for Excellence.

• The Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Research.

• The Statistics Commission.

• The Strategic Investment Board.

• The Technical Advisory Board.

• The UK Chemicals Stakeholder Forum.

• The Veterinary Residues Committee.

Article 3

SCHEDULE 2

• Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta.

• The Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel for Northern Ireland, in relation to information held by it otherwise than as a tribunal.

• The General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland.

• The Governors of the Armargh Observatory and Planetarium.

• The Harbour of Donaghadee Commissioners.

• The Learning and Skills Advisory Board.

• The Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery.

• The Northern Ireland Social Care Council.

• The Waste Management Advisory Board.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 apply to public authorities. For the purposes of the Act, a “public authority” means a body or office which is listed in Schedule 1 to the Act or designated by an order under section 5, or a publicly-owned company as defined by section 6. The list in Schedule 1 to the Act may be added to by an order under section 4(1), provided that the conditions prescribed by section 4(2) and (3) are satisfied.

By section 7(2) of the Act, an order under section 4(1) may list the public authority in Schedule 1 to the Act only in relation to information of a specified description.

Article 2 of this Order adds references to the bodies and offices listed in Schedule 1 to this Order to Part VI of Schedule 1 to the Act (Other Public Bodies and Offices: General).

Article 3 of this Order adds references to the bodies and offices listed in Schedule 2 to this Order to Part VII of Schedule 1 to the Act (Other Public Bodies and Offices: Northern Ireland).

The bodies and offices added to Schedule 1 to the Act by this Order are public bodies. There are no regulatory implications for businesses arising from this Order, therefore a Regulatory Impact Assessment has not been prepared.

(1)

2000 c. 36. The functions of the Secretary of State under sections 4 and 7 were transferred to the Lord Chancellor by the Transfer of Functions (Miscellaneous) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/3500), which Order amended those sections accordingly.

(2)

2001 c. 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000. Section 4(7) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires the Secretary of State to consult the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland before making an order under section 4(1) that will add to Schedule 1 a body which, or the holder of any office who, would be a Northern Ireland public authority. Section 1 of the Northern Ireland Act 2000 suspends the devolved government in Northern Ireland, and by paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 1 to that Act, any functions of the First Minister and the deputy First Minister may be discharged by the Secretary of State during the period of suspension.