Proactive release: Good practices for proactive release of official information

This guide:

• explains what proactive release is; 
• describes the benefits of proactive release; and
• identifies some good practices in proactive release.  

It is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to proactive release, but to pull together the Ombudsman’s previous guidance on this subject. 

It complements existing guidance by:

• the State Services Commission (SSC): see Proactive release guidance and Practical tips; and 
• the Cabinet Office: see CO 18 (4) Proactive Release of Cabinet Material

The guide is intended to be updated over time, so contact us if you have any feedback or questions.