Requests for information during dissolution
Requests for information around the period of Dissolution – the period between a General Election being called and the election itself – are likely to take longer to respond to.
What is dissolution?
Dissolution is the official term for the end of a Parliament, and follows a set process. Because Parliament has been dissolved, it ceases to exist. This has an impact on how we provide information to the public.
How are requests for information handled during dissolution?
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the general right of access to information held by public authorities. However, during the dissolution period, Parliament ceases to exist, which means there is no public authority – either the House of Commons or the House of Lords – to which the Act applies. As a result, the right of access to information provided for by the Act is suspended.
During this period, all requests are still acknowledged, but the 20-day deadline is calculated to exclude the period between dissolution and the new Parliament sitting for the first time. If you submit a request, you should therefore expect a response after this period is over.
The following Decision Notice, published by the Information Commissioner’s Office, covers this subject in relation to a request made to the House of Commons:
How else can I get information during dissolution?
We already publish large amounts of information on our website, including commonly requested information and responses to previous requests, in the ‘Information we already publish’ section.
We also recommend that you check our ‘Information we do not hold’ page. It could be the case that the information you are seeking is held by the Government, your local council, or another organisation.