The Campaign for Freedom of Information has produced a users’ guide to help people make the best use of new laws concerning access to information.

The guide covers the The Freedom of Information Act 2000, which came into force on January 1, along with The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, The Environmental Information Regulations 2004, The Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and the Amendments to the Data Protection Act 1998.

It includes a brief overview of what each of the new laws do, before looking at how to make a request for information and how to challenge refusals.

It also details the bodies and information covered by the new legislation and has a model letter which can be used as a guide when making requests for information under the FOI Act or EIRs.

A five-page chapter gives details about challenging a decision and how to make an appeal, firstly to the authority involved and then to the Information Commissioner.