Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) – Section 23 – Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters.

Sections

Section 23Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters.

(1) Information held by a public authority is exempt information if it was directly or indirectly supplied to the public authority by, or relates to, any of the bodies specified in subsection (3).

(2) A certificate signed by a Minister of the Crown certifying that the information to which it applies was directly or indirectly supplied by, or relates to, any of the bodies specified in subsection (3) shall, subject to section 60, be conclusive evidence of that fact.

(3) The bodies referred to in subsections (1) and (2) are—

(a)
the Security Service,
(b)
the Secret Intelligence Service,
(c)
the Government Communications Headquarters,
(d)
the special forces,
(e)
the Tribunal established under section 65 of the Regulation of ^M1Investigatory Powers Act 2000,
(f)
the Tribunal established under section 7 of the ^M2Interception of Communications Act 1985,
(g)
the Tribunal established under section 5 of the ^M3Security Service Act 1989,
(h)
the Tribunal established under section 9 of the ^M4Intelligence Services Act 1994,
(i)
the Security Vetting Appeals Panel,
(j)
the Security Commission,
(k)
the National Criminal Intelligence Service, ^F1. . .
(l)
the Service Authority for the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
(m)
[^F2 the Serious Organised Crime Agency.]
(n)
[^F3 the National Crime Agency.]
(o)
[^F4 the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.]
(p)
[^F5 a Judicial Commissioner within the meaning of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (see section 263(1) of that Act).]

(4) In subsection (3)(c) “the Government Communications Headquarters” includes any unit or part of a unit of the armed forces of the Crown which is for the time being required by the Secretary of State to assist the Government Communications Headquarters in carrying out its functions.

(5) The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would involve the disclosure of any information (whether or not already recorded) which was directly or indirectly supplied to the public authority by, or relates to, any of the bodies specified in subsection (3).

Amended text

This Section is shown as amended by Crime and Courts Act 2013; Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024; Justice and Security Act 2013; Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (see the annotations below), as incorporated in the text in force on 7 October 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Annotations

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in s. 23(3)(k) repealed (1.4.2006) by Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15), ss. 59, 174, 178, Sch. 4 para. 159, Sch. 17; S.I. 2006/378, art. 4(1), Sch. para. 10 (subject to art. 4(2)-(7))
F2 S. 23(3)(m) inserted (1.4.2006) by Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15), ss. 59, 178, Sch. 4 para. 159; S.I. 2006/378, art. 4(1), Sch. para. 10 (subject to art. 4(2)-(7))
F3 S. 23(3)(n) inserted (27.5.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(2), Sch. 8 para. 102; S.I. 2013/1042, art. 3(l)
F4 S. 23(3)(o) inserted (25.6.2013) by Justice and Security Act 2013 (c. 18), s. 20(1), Sch. 2 para. 5(2); S.I. 2013/1482, art. 2 (with arts. 3, 4)
F5 S. 23(3)(p) inserted (14.10.2024) by Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 (c. 9), ss. 29, 32(2); S.I. 2024/1021, reg. 2(aa)

Marginal Citations

https://foia.digiphile.law/article/article-23.html

Text as at 7 October 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in October 2026.