FOI and EIR
Every exemption and exception on record.
Apply exemptions and exceptions passage by passage, redact consistently across every service area, and keep the reason for each decision — ready for internal review or the ICO.
What the obligation asks
Public authorities must answer requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within 20 working days. Environmental information falls under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, which use exceptions rather than exemptions and start from a presumption in favour of disclosure. Personal information is withheld under FOIA section 40 and EIR regulation 13. Qualified exemptions, and the exceptions in EIR regulation 12(4) and (5), are subject to the public interest test.
Where it goes wrong
- Different service areas redact the same kind of information differently.
- Exemptions are applied to whole documents when only passages qualify.
- At internal review or an ICO complaint, the reasoning has to be rebuilt from memory.
How Smartbox handles it
Different regimes. The same four steps.
- 01
Discover
Gather responsive material from every service area in one place.
- 02
Decide
Apply FOIA exemptions and EIR exceptions passage by passage, from a library you control, with your reasoning recorded alongside.
- 03
Act
Burned-in redactions, and one release point.
- 04
Prove
Each redaction keeps its basis and decision-maker, ready for internal review, the ICO or your disclosure log.
What you can show afterwards
- Every exemption and exception on record, not remembered.
- Redactions in the file itself.
- One controlled way out.
Questions
Can Smartbox apply EIR exceptions as well as FOI exemptions?
Yes. Your library holds both, and each redaction records which one applies.What happens at internal review?
The reviewer sees each redaction with its basis and the person who decided, so the review starts from the record.
Start now. Go live on Gen 2.
Choosing and approving a disclosure platform takes time. Start the conversation now, and plan your move around general availability in January 2027.