The Freedom of Information Act came into force at the beginning of 2005. It deals with access to official information, while parallel regulations deal with environmental information.
The Act provides individuals or organisations with the right to request information held by a public authority. They can do this by letter or email.
The public authority must tell the applicant whether it holds the information, and must normally supply it within 20 working days, in the format requested.

Link to website    www.ico.gov.uk