What are the rules in the Freedom of Information Act regarding repeated requests?
Where you have previously complied with a request for information which was made by any person, you are not obliged to comply with a subsequent identical or substantially similar request from that person unless a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the previous request and the making of the current request. Although there is no definition in the Freedom of Information Act of a ‘reasonable interval’, we have published guidance that will help you determine whether a request may be ‘repeated’ and provides guidance for public authorities on how to deal with them.
Where an authority have previously complied with a request for information which was made by any person, they are not obliged to comply with a subsequent identical or substantially similar request from that person unless a reasonable interval has elapsed between compliance with the previous request and the making of the current request. Although there is no definition in the Freedom of Information Act of a ‘reasonable interval’, we have published guidance that will help you determine whether a request may be ‘repeated’ and provides guidance for public authorities on how to deal with them.
