Transcript Infrastructure Section

Freedom of Information Act
‘What you need to know’
Corporate Information Governance Team
Strategic Intelligence
freedom of information
What does this presentation cover?
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Right of access to information
What do people ask for?
How do people make a request?
What do I do if I receive a request?
How does the Council handle requests?
Do we always have to give the information?
Other times when we may say ‘no’
Can we ignore requests?
Summary
freedom of information
Right of access to information
The Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations give people
the right to access official information held by public authorities.
The aim of this legislation is to:
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create a culture of openness and transparency in public authorities
ensure that public authorities are accountable for the decisions they make and the
money they spend
help the public better understand these decisions and allow the public to challenge
them
The public also have the right to access information held by public authorities about them,
which is dealt with under the Data Protection Act. More information about this, can be found in
the Data Protection training section on the Source.
freedom of information
What do people ask for?
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Our budgets and spend on particular services
Salaries of our senior officers and other staff, expenses claims and pensions
Copies of contracts and tender proposals, and the value of contracts
Staff structure charts and contact details
Highway safety inspection reports and details of complaints about road conditions
Copies of internal correspondence
Children in care and adoption figures
Adult social care figures, number receiving domiciliary care etc
Compensation claim amounts, personal injury, vehicle damage
Most of this information could be disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act,
however there may be some information that must be withheld, for example if it is
personal information or commercially sensitive information and the public interest in
withholding it, outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.
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How do people make a request?
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) if the public want to request information
held by the Council, they must put their request in writing; describe the information
they want and give their name and an address so the Council can send the information
to them (this can be an e-mail address).
If the public want to request information about the environment, they can request this
under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). This legislation differs slightly
to the FOIA in the way these requests are handled. For example, if a person wants to
request environmental information under the EIR, they can do so verbally over the
telephone, in person or in writing.
If the public want to request information held about themselves, these requests are
handled under the Data Protection Act (DPA) and in these cases, the applicant must put
their request in writing and provide official identification of themselves.
In all three cases, the applicant should send their request to the Corporate Information
Governance Team at [email protected] or telephone 01392 384678 for assistance.
freedom of information
What do I do if I receive a request?
The Council receives a vast number of ‘enquiries’ or requests for information from the
public and therefore it will not always be necessary or appropriate to treat every
enquiry as a formal FOIA request.
If you can answer the request quickly (within a few days) and the information being
requested is not confidential, sensitive or controversial in some way, you may be
able to respond to the enquiry or request yourself.
If you are not sure whether you should disclose the information, call the Corporate
Information Governance Team on 01392 384678 for advice or email the request to
[email protected] and mark it ‘urgent’.
The Council has 20 working days in which to respond to requests which fall under the
FOIA or the EIR, therefore it is important that you respond to all enquiries quickly or
forward them on as soon as possible. The 20 days start when you receive the request.
freedom of information
How does the Council handle requests?
Requests for information under the FOIA, EIR and the DPA are handled by the Corporate
Information Governance team (CIGT). This team assesses which legislation the request
falls under and whether the applicant has provided sufficient information for the Council to
process their request.
Requests which pass this stage, will be acknowledged and sent to one of the contact officers
in the service area which holds the information. The contact officer will gather the information
and assess whether or not an exemption applies.
If you are asked to assist a contact officer with a request, you must do so quickly. The
contact officer will compile their response and send it to the CIGT who will ensure the
legislation has been fully complied with and send the response to the applicant.
In some cases, the Heads of Service and/or the Press Office will be consulted before releasing
information, to ensure the information is presented in the most factual & useful way.
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Do we always have to give the information?
No, not always. Although the FOIA is intended to provide greater openness, there may be
good reasons why some information should not be disclosed and so the Act provides a
number of exemptions which stipulate when information should not be released to the public.
For example, if disclosure would prejudice:
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the privacy of individuals under the Data Protection Act
the commercial interests of the authority or another organization/company
the effective conduct and running of the authority
law enforcement
health and safety of staff or the public
investigations and proceedings conducted by the authority
national security, and so on
In some cases when an exemption applies, we have to decide whether there is a greater
public interest in disclosing the information against withholding it. This is known as applying
the ‘public interest test’ and can at times be a difficult exercise.
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Other times when we may say ‘no’
The FOIA recognises that there may be other times when it would be unreasonable for a
public authority to have to respond to requests. For example if:
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the applicant has not put their request in writing (unless their request falls under EIR)
the applicant has used a pseudonym such as ‘Mickey Mouse’ and not their ‘real’ name
the applicant has not clearly described the information they want
it would take the authority more than £450 (which equates to 18hrs) to answer the request
the information is reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means
the request is vexatious or repeated (e.g. deliberately designed to cause disruption or
annoyance; lacks serious purpose or value; is harassing the authority etc)
the information being requested is intended to be published in the future and it is
unreasonable to provide a copy before it’s release date
another law prohibits the disclosure under the FOIA
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Can we ignore requests?
No. The Council has a legal obligation under the FOIA and the EIR to inform applicants
whether or not we hold the information being requested and if we do, we must provide
them with a copy of the information, unless the information cannot be disclosed because an
exemption applies. ‘Ignoring’ a request is different to formally ‘refusing’ it by writing to the
applicant explaining our reasons.
It is a criminal offence under the FOIA for any person to alter, deface, block, erase, destroy
or conceal any recorded information held by a public authority, with the intention of
preventing its disclosure to the applicant. This can result in a fine of up to £5000 for the
individual concerned.
In addition, if we ignore a request, the Information Commissioner (the independent regulator
for the FOIA and EIR) can issue us with an Enforcement Notice, ordering the Council to
respond to the request. If the Enforcement Notice is ignored the authority can be found in
contempt of court. This can result in unlimited fines and up to 2 years in prison for the
Chief Executive.
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SUMMARY
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The public have a legal right to request information held by the Council under the FOIA
and the EIR.
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If you receive a request or enquiry, decide whether or not you could or should respond to
it yourself. If in doubt, contact the Corporate Information Governance Team for advice
or forward the request to [email protected] as quickly as possible.
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If you are asked to provide information to a contact officer to help them answer a request,
you must assist them quickly.
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The Council has a legal obligation to respond to FOIA and EIR requests within
20 working days. It must inform the applicant whether or not it holds the information
and if so, provide them with a copy of that information.
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The council can only withhold information if an exemption applies and it must inform
the applicant of this. The Council cannot simply ‘ignore’ the request.
For more information about handling FOIA or EIR requests contact 01392 384678.