Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) – Section 65 – Decisions as to refusal of discretionary disclosure of historical records.

Sections

Section 65Decisions as to refusal of discretionary disclosure of historical records.

(1) Before refusing a request for information relating to information which is contained in a historical record and is exempt information only by virtue of a provision not specified in section 2(3), a public authority shall—

(a)
if the historical record is a public record within the meaning of the ^M1Public Records Act 1958, consult the [^F1Secretary of State], or
(b)
if the historical record is a public record to which the ^M2Public Records Act (Northern Ireland) 1923 applies, consult the appropriate Northern Ireland Minister.

(2) This section does not apply to information to which section 66 applies.

Amended text

This Section is shown as amended by S.I. 2015/1897 (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 Words in s. 65(1)(a) substituted (9.12.2015) by The Transfer of Functions (Information and Public Records) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1897), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 2(5)(d)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Pt. VI modified (1.1.2013) by The Freedom of Information (Definition of Historical Records) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/3029), arts. 1(1), 2, Sch.
C2 S. 65(1)(a) functions transferred (9.12.2015) by The Transfer of Functions (Information and Public Records) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1897), arts. 1(2), 6(1)(b), (3)(b) (with art. 7)

Marginal Citations

https://foia.digiphile.law/article/article-65.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.