mySociety
Description
WhatDoTheyKnow is a website that helps anyone in the UK submit a Freedom of Information request to government departments, local councils, the NHS, the armed forces, state-funded schools and universities, and other public authorities, and to regulators holding information about businesses and charities. Users choose a public authority, write a short description of what they want to know, and the site sends the request on their behalf. The request and any response are then automatically published on the site so anyone can read them, building a large public archive of released information.
An account is free, and a paid tier, WhatDoTheyKnow Pro, is offered to journalists and others who need to make more requests or have specialised needs. The service also helps people report data breaches, and volunteers can join to help with administration, communications, legal review of requests, user support or campaigning around Freedom of Information.
WhatDoTheyKnow was established in 2008 and is run by volunteers, built on the Alaveteli software platform. It is built and run by mySociety, a registered charity and limited company in England and Wales that also runs a commercial subsidiary, SocietyWorks. mySociety’s trustees govern the charity, which was initially funded by the JRSST Charitable Trust. The site reports over 220,000 registered users, with roughly 15 to 20 percent of requests to UK central government made through it, and around six million visitors a year who use it to access already-published requests and responses without submitting one themselves.
Latest news
Request to College of Policing Limited by D. Moore . Annotated by D. Moore on 26 September 2026 . Partially successful ICO contacted.
26 Sep 2026Implementation of an automated highway maintenance system.
Follow up sent to Warwickshire County Council by Martin Liddament on 26 September 2026 . Awaiting classification Dear Mannie Dhaliwal, Thank you for your letter of 18 September concerning the internal review of FOI reference 13523320. I have two points I wish...
26 Sep 2026Implementation of an automated highway maintenance system.
Response by Warwickshire County Council to Martin Liddament on 26 September 2026 . Awaiting classification Thank you for your email to the Information Governance Team at Warwickshire County Council. If we need any further information to deal with your ema...
26 Sep 2026Response by College of Policing Limited to D. Moore on 25 September 2026 . Partially successful Dear D Moore, Unfortunately, due to an administrative error, our original response to you was incorrect. Please find attached a corrected response as...
25 Sep 2026Criteria, AWERB Minutes, and Policies Regarding Non-Animal Methods under Section 2A ASPA 1986
Response by Harper Adams University to Andrea Tarling on 25 September 2026 . Partially successful Dear Andrea, Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please find our response in blue below. In regards to questions...
25 Sep 2026Food Hygiene Inspection Report for Holy Trinity Primary School
Response by Camden Borough Council to Jack Cawthorne on 23 September 2026 . Successful Dear Jack, Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in responding to you. I have attached a copy of the food hygiene inspection report co...
23 Sep 2026
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