Public authority
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) defines a public authority as any body which, any other person who, or the holder of any office which:
- Is listed in schedule 1, or
- Is designated by order under section 5, or
- A publicly-owned company as defined by section 6.
Schedule 1 suggests that public authorities include:
- Government departments.
- Legislative bodies.
- The armed forces.
- Local government.
- The National Health Service.
- The Police.
- Maintained schools.
- Further and higher education institutions.
- Other public bodies, including individually named non-departmental public bodies.
Section 4(4) of the Act permits certain additions to and removals from schedule 1.
Section 5 permits the Secretary of State to designate bodies as public authorities if they appear to be carrying out functions of a public nature or are contracted to provide a service which is a function of a public authority.
Section 6 suggests that a company is publicly-owned if:
- It is wholly owned by the Crown,
- It is wholly owned by the wider public sector, or
- It is wholly owned by the Crown and the wider public sector.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
It was the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years, but to this day the exact construction techniques are a mystery.
Shortlist for the industry's most coveted award announced.
Government responds to Mark Farmer's review of industry, rejecting the call for a levy on clients.
Peter Hansford to examine what wider lessons can be learned from the fire.
Every project is subject to uncertainty. How can construction better understand uncertainty for performance improvement?
MAD Architects reveal their designs for a futuristic campus for electric car manufacturer.
Homebuyers could borrow more with better forecasting of energy bills, according to industry consortium's new report.
Read our introductory article on carbon capture and storage.
Have a look at Frank Gehry's Binoculars Building in Los Angeles.
BRE publish new Loss Prevention Standard seeking to minimise fire risk from ducting.
Beneficial infrastructure projects
How do we tell which infrastructure projects will work?
CIAT announce the establishment of a Working Group in light of Grenfell and call for contributions.
In 1900, 15% of global population lived in cities. Now it’s over 50%. Which is why we need ‘hydroinformatics’ to consume smarter.
Have a look at these competition-winning designs for a new residential development in Eindhoven.
Grenfell Tower articles updated daily