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The Freedom of Information Act

This Act gives you the right to access information held by public authorities in two ways:

  • Via the Publication Scheme which specifies the categories of information published by the Council, the format of the information and whether any payment is required.
  • By making a request for information (see details below).

Make a request for information

If the information you want is not in any of the documents listed in the Publication Scheme, you can make an online request.

Freedom of Information request

View exemptions

Or by writing to the Senior Statutory Data Protection Officer providing your name and address and details of the information you want to see.

What should you include in your request?

  • Name
  • Address
  • Contact details (Phone number, email)
  • Detailed description of the information you need e.g specify dates

Remember to:

  • Clearly state that you are making your request under the Freedom of Information Act/Environmental Information Regulations.
  • Check the publication scheme in case the information is already available
  • Find out who to send your request to. If you address your request directly to the appropriate contact within the authority then you may receive a prompter response
  • Use straightforward, polite language; avoid basing your request or question on assumptions or opinions, or mixing requests with complaints or comments.
  • Specify whether you have any preferences as to how you would like to receive the information, for example if you would prefer a paper copy or to receive an email.
  • Give the authority ample opportunity to address any previous requests you have made before submitting new ones.
  • Don't Use the request to make personal attacks on employees
  • Don't use FOI to reopen grievances which have already been fully addressed by the authority, or subjected to independent investigation with no evidence of wrongdoing being found.
  • Don'r deliberately ‘fish’ for information by submitting a very broad or random requests in the hope it will catch something noteworthy or otherwise useful. Requests should be directed towards obtaining information on a particular issue.

What happens next?

We will acknowledge your request as soon as we can. If your request is unclear in any way, we will contact you to discuss your requirements.

How long does it take?

We have up to 20 working days following the date we receive your request. If we need to ask you for clarification of the request, the 20 working day period does not start until that is received.
If we need to extend the timescale (in order to consider certain exemptions), we will inform you of this and indicate by when you should receive a response.

Is there any reason why information would not be provided?

We are not obliged to comply with repeated or vexatious requests nor with requests that exceed the costs limit (see below).

Furthermore, your request will be refused if any of the exemptions contained in the Act apply. If your request is refused, our reply will identify which exemption we are relying on and why.

Format of information

If you express a preference for receiving a copy of the information requested (e.g. hard copy, audio format, Braille), or for being given the opportunity to inspect records containing the information, we will seek to accommodate your request as long as reasonably practicable.

When making your request for information, please identify how you would like to receive the information.

Will I have to pay?

The majority of requests will be handled without charge.

However, if it likely to take more than 2.5 days to find, sort and edit material (£450, calculated at £25 an hour) then we need not comply with the request.

In such circumstances, we will contact you to discuss your request and ask you to modify it e.g. by asking for less information. This is aimed at bringing your request beneath the fees threshold. If you are unable to do this we may not be able to answer your request.

For requests where costs are less than £450, we will not charge a fee and will not charge for disbursements e.e. postage/printing costs which are under £10.

What if I am unhappy with the outcome of my request?

If you are unhappy with the response, you should contact the individual who has been named in your reply. He/she will conduct an internal review by reconsidering your request and will either uphold, reject or partly uphold the original decision.

If you are dissatisfied with the results of the internal review you may appeal to the Information Commissioner. One of the Commissioner's officers will then be assigned to deal with your case.

Exemptions

You can view any information by the Council, but there are exceptions for information that should be confidential. This does not include information about yourself - this information can be found in the Data Protection Act section.

The absolute exemptions

s21 Information accessible to applicants by other means

s32 Court records.

s40 Personal information (where the applicant is the subject of the information)

s41 Information provided in confidence

s44 Prohibitions on disclosure e.g. where a disclosure is prohibited by an enactment or would constitute contempt of court

Qualified Exemptions where the public interest test applies:

If the authority decides that one or more of the following exemptions apply, it must still release the information unless it concludes that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

s22 Information intended for future publication

s30 Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities

s31 Law enforcement

s33 Audit functions

s36 Prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs

s38 Health and safety e.g. where disclosure of such information would endanger the physical or mental health or safety of any individual.

s39 Environmental information

s40 Personal information concerning a third party and a s10 notice under the Data Protection Act 1998 applies to that information

s42 Legal professional privilege

s43 Commercial interests.

View Freedom of Information Act Policy

View Corporate Support Privacy Notices