This section contains information for people outside government and practitioners about the work of the access to information central clearing house. It contains links to the clearing house toolkit and explains how we work.
The government established the Access to Information Central Clearing House in January 2005, located within the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). The clearing house's role is to ensure consistency across central government in the way the Data Protection Act (DPA), the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, and the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) are applied.
We offer advice and assistance to Whitehall departments (including non-ministerial departments) in dealing with complex information requests, to ensure that government takes a consistent and appropriate approach.
Our principal functions are:
The clearing house works closely with the Cabinet Office, which takes the lead on those cases intrinsic to the operation of collective responsibility, cabinet and the role of ministers; and those cases in which the prime minister takes personal interest.
[There is more information about the principle of collective responsibility on the Cabinet Office website]
We operate on a referral basis. When government departments consider that a request meets one of the criteria on a list of referral points (or "triggers"), they refer the request to us for advice. We then decide whether our involvement is necessary, in consultation with the department who made the referral.
The clearing house toolkit provides further information on the day to day operation of the clearing house and its processes and procedures. Annex B sets out the list of referral points. Annex C is a set of referral forms which departments are asked to complete when making a referral to the clearing house.