How to ask for information
Follow the advice and tips below to ensure your request for information is dealt with as quickly and smoothly as possible.
First, it's a good idea to check and see if the information you're looking for is already on our website. You can do this by:
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looking at the released information page
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checking our publication scheme to see what types of information we make available and whether you have to pay for it
How to ask for information
If you can't find the information using any of those methods, contact us by letter or email and ask for it. To help us deal with your query please:
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write to the most suitable department
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tell us clearly what information you want
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include your name and either a postal or email address
Home Office FOI requests
Home Office
Direct communications unit
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Email FOI requests
UK Border Agency FOI requests
Information about filing an FOI request with the UK Border Agency.
Passports and civil registrations FOI requests
Information about filing an FOI request with the Identity and Passport Service.
Criminal Records Bureau FOI requests
Information about filling an FOI request with the Criminal Records Bureau.
Prisons, probation and criminal justice FOI requests
For queries about prisons, probation and the criminal justice system please contact the Ministry of Justice:
Data and compliance unit
102 Petty France
London SW1H 9AJ
Email:
data.access@justice.gsi.gov.uk
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the way in which your request is handled, or the response you receive, the Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to complain.
If you do complain, the issues you raise will be considered first - as part of an internal review process - by officials not involved in the handling of your original request.
When submitting a complaint, please provide the Home Office reference number you received on the reply to your FOI request. If you do not have the reference number, please provide details of when you wrote, to whom, and about what.
Complaints should be submitted no more than two months after you receive a reply to your FOI request. You will receive a substantive response, which will have been approved by the head of the information management service, no more than 40 days after your complaint is first received.
Complaints should be sent to:
The information access team
Home Office
4th Floor Seacole Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Email:
info.access@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Note: If your request was sent to the UK Border Agency, check their website for details on how to complain to them.
Should you be dissatisfied with the Home Office's response to your complaint, you have a further right of appeal to the Information Commissioner. In that case, write to:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
www.ico.gov.uk