Can somebody request to see personal emails that I wrote and received using my school email address?
Paul Boyle: Under Freedom of Information, anybody can request any information that the organisation holds, but there are a number of exemptions which can be used to withhold information in particular circumstances. In the case of personal emails, these do not relate to your work in the public authority, and so count as your personal data and are so protected by the Data Protection Act and Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act. Jenny Wilson: Was the charging system introduced to discourage people from making requests for information? Paul Boyle: Absolutely not! There is no charge for information requested up to the appropriate limit in the regulations, which for schools is £450. Above that level, the school can refuse to provide the information. Having the limit in that way balances people’s rights to get information with the burden on public authority for providing it. Sarah Howcroft: With regard to the charging policy for the Freedom of Information Act, if our LEA has put in pl
