The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) introduced a general right of access to all non-confidential information held by public bodies such as councils.
If the information you want meets the definition of ‘environmental information’ it will be handled under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Types of information people request from us include statistics, reports, minutes of meetings and council procedures.
How to request information
You can find out how to submit your request by visiting out FOI explained page.
You should receive an acknowledgement within one working day, and receive your information within 20 working days, unless any exemptions apply.
You can also read our Publication Scheme.
FOI re-use and copyright
Any information we supply to you under FOIA should be for your personal use. We retain copyright to all information we disclose.
It would be helpful if you could tell us if you plan to re-use or publish the information we give you when you first make your request, and your reason for requesting the information.
This will help us make sure you get exactly what you want, and will also help us consider what needs to be done regarding any permission you may need to obtain.
Information released under FOI can be re-used free of charge under an open government licence. Please read how you can do that by following the below link:
Other information may incur a marginal cost under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations before re-use is allowed. Information that can be transmitted to you electronically will not normally incur such a cost. Please email us at requestforinformation@bedford.gov.uk your re-use requests.
Our performance
The Information Commissioner's Office sets a target of 90% for FOI requests to be answered on time. Below are the performance results of previous years.
Between 2012/13 and 2021/22 both FOIs and EIRs (Environmental Information Regulations) were combined, from 2022/23 these were separated, the below figures from 2022/23 are for FOIs only.
| Year | Freedom of information requests answered on time (%) | Legislation |
|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | 98.5% | FOI and EIR |
| 2013/14 | 99.3% | FOI and EIR |
| 2014/15 | 99.6% | FOI and EIR |
| 2015/16 | 99.8% | FOI and EIR |
| 2016/17 | 99.4% | FOI and EIR |
| 2017/18 | 97.7% | FOI and EIR |
| 2018/19 | 96.9% | FOI and EIR |
| 2019/20 | 91.6% | FOI and EIR |
| 2020/21 | 74.8% | FOI and EIR |
| 2021/22 | 76.2% | FOI and EIR |
| 2022/23 | 73.0% | FOI |
| 2023/24 | 88.6% | FOI |
| 2024/25 | 85.3% | FOI |
Exemptions
Some information may be withheld if an ‘exemption’ applies. To see what kind of information may be withheld, visit our Freedom of Information exemptions webpage.