Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) – Section 56 – No action against public authority.

Sections

Section 56No action against public authority.

(1) This Act does not confer any right of action in civil proceedings in respect of any failure to comply with any duty imposed by or under this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) does not affect the powers of the [^F1Commission] under section 54.

Amended text

This Section is shown as amended by S.I. 2026/386 (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. 56(2) substituted (30.9.2026) by S.I. 2026/386, reg. 1(2), Sch. 2 para. 12(17); S.I. 2026/1015, reg. 2(c)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 56 applied (with modifications) (31.12.2009) by The INSPIRE Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/3157), reg. 11
C2 S. 56 applied (with modifications) (18.7.2015) by The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1415), regs. 1, 19 (with regs. 5, 11(4))
C3 S. 56 applied (with modifications) (18.7.2015) by The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1415), regs. 1, 18 (with regs. 5, 11(4))
C4 S. 56 excluded (18.7.2015) by The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1415), regs. 1, 22(7) (with regs. 5, 11(4))

https://foia.digiphile.law/article/article-56.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.