PC-FOI BCS Practitioner Certificate in Freedom of Information Practice Questions
Prepare for PC-FOI with more than an answer.
- Time limit
- 90 minutes
- Passing score
- 39/60
- Level
- Practitioner
- Valid for
- No expiration stated
Domains covered on the exam 6
- The Legislation, Codes of Practice and Ethics within Public Authorities5%
- The Scope and Principles of the Freedom of Information Act20%
- Obligations and Responsibilities30%
- Disclosure, Non-Disclosure and Exemptions20%
- Environmental Information and Personal Data20%
- The Enforcement and Appeals Process5%
- 1
Under Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, what fundamental duty does a public authority owe to an applicant making a valid request?
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Correct answer: C
Section 1(1)(a) of the FOIA establishes the fundamental duty of a public authority to inform the applicant in writing whether it holds the information specified in the request. This is commonly known as the 'duty to confirm or deny.'
- 2
When calculating whether an FOI request exceeds the appropriate cost limit under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, which TWO of the following activities can a public authority include in its time/cost estimate? (Select TWO)
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Correct answer: B, D
Under the Fees Regulations, a public authority can only take into account the time spent on four specific activities: 1) Determining whether it holds the information, 2) Locating the information, 3) Retrieving the information, and 4) Extracting the information. Time spent considering exemptions, conducting public interest tests, or redacting documents cannot be included in the cost limit calculation.
Under the Fees Regulations, a public authority can only take into account the time spent on four specific activities: 1) Determining whether it holds the information, 2) Locating the information, 3) Retrieving the information, and 4) Extracting the information. Time spent considering exemptions, conducting public interest tests, or redacting documents cannot be included in the cost limit calculation.
- 3
A public authority has received 15 highly detailed and overlapping FOI requests from the same individual over the past month. The requests relate to a minor administrative grievance and require a disproportionate amount of staff time to process, causing significant disruption to the authority's core functions. Which section of the FOIA is the most appropriate for the authority to apply to refuse these requests without conducting a cost limit assessment?
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Correct answer: C
Section 14(1) allows a public authority to refuse a request if it is deemed vexatious. The ICO guidance states that a request can be vexatious if it imposes a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation, or distress. A pattern of overlapping, frequent requests causing undue burden is a classic indicator of a vexatious request.
- 4
An Information Manager at a local council is reviewing their internal governance structure for managing physical and digital records. They want to align their policies with the official guidelines established under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Which of the following best describes the legal status of the Section 46 Code of Practice on Records Management?
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Correct answer: C
The Section 46 Code of Practice provides guidance to public authorities on keeping, managing, and destroying records. It outlines good practice but does not have statutory force. Non-compliance itself is not an offence, but poor records management can lead to breaches of the statutory duties within the FOIA.
flowchart TD A[FOIA 2000] --> B(Section 45 Code) A --> C(Section 46 Code) B --> D[Handling Requests] C --> E[Records Management] D -.-> F[Good Practice - Non-Statutory] E -.-> F - 5
A newly established limited company is entirely owned by the Department for Education (a government department). The company operates independently to provide educational consulting services. Under which provision of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is this company most likely covered?
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Correct answer: B
Section 6 of the FOIA defines publicly-owned companies. A company is a publicly-owned company if it is wholly owned by the Crown or by a public authority listed in Schedule 1 (other than a government department). Because the Department for Education is a government department (representing the Crown), a company entirely owned by it falls under Section 6.
- 6
A private waste management company, EcoDisposal Ltd, has signed a contract with a local borough council to manage municipal recycling services. A local journalist submits a Freedom of Information request directly to EcoDisposal Ltd asking for the operational costs of the recycling plant and the company's overall profit margins. Which TWO of the following statements are correct regarding this situation? (Select TWO)
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Correct answer: C, E
Private companies are not public authorities under FOIA. However, information they hold on behalf of a public authority (such as performance data for a public contract) is considered to be held by the public authority. The request should be directed to the public authority (the council), which will then retrieve the relevant information from the contractor.
Private companies are not public authorities under FOIA. However, information they hold on behalf of a public authority (such as performance data for a public contract) is considered to be held by the public authority. The request should be directed to the public authority (the council), which will then retrieve the relevant information from the contractor.
