Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Introduction

Purpose and aims of the Act

The purpose of the act is to give people increased access to the wealth of information public authorities, such as local councils, hold.

The aims of the act are:

• To encourage increased openness in the workings of the public authority

And

• To enable members of the public to understand how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend public money

Dealing with Requests for Information

Accessing Information

The act creates 2 ways for people to access information.

The first way is through a Publication Scheme. The Borough Council has produced a Publication Scheme under section 19 of the act - see below for more information. The second way people can access information is through individual requests for information - referred to as 'Individual Access Requests'. These Requests are made in respect of any information which is not included in the Publication Scheme, and are authorised under section 1 of the Act.

Publication Schemes

All Public authorities have an obligation to bring a Publication Scheme into effect and to maintain it, and keep it up to date. The Publication Scheme must be approved by the information commissioner.

A Publication Scheme is a public commitment to make some information routinely available, as well as a guide as to how that information can be obtained.

The purpose of the Publication Scheme is to specify the kinds of information regularly published, the form it is in, and whether there are any charges for such information. For example, the Local Development Plan is available for £35.

It is important that you look in our Publication Scheme to see if the information you want is covered by it.

Individual Requests for Access Under Section 1

If the request for information is not covered by the Publication Scheme the Act imposes a further duty to comply with individual requests. These 'Individual Access Requests' are created by section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act.

This duty came into 1 January 2005, when the act is fully implemented.

There are some exemptions to the requirement to respond to individual access requests. If any of these apply, the information does not have to be disclosed. However, as the Act is designed to create a more transparent culture, it is important that these exemptions are not abused.

Applicants rights

An applicant requesting information under an individual access request has two rights. Firstly he or she has the right to be told if the information exists and, if it does exist, the right to receive the information. Failing this, the applicant has a right to be told why the information cannot be disclosed. This refusal must be based on one of the exemptions.

Individual Access Requests

A request for information may be made to anyone within the Borough Council.

A request for information doesn't have to mention the Freedom of Information Act at all!

A request can be made by anyone - no one is exempt from these rights. This means that factors such as age, sex, nationality or occupation are irrelevant and will not be taken into account when dealing with a request for information.

A very important point is that The Freedom of Information Act is retrospective. This means that it will apply to all information regardless of when it was collected.

The Act only applies to written requests, although this includes emails and faxes. If you ask for information over the telephone, or face to face, you may be requested to put the request in writing.

Written requests include electronic communications such as email and faxes, and so it is important that e-mails are treated in the same way as paper requests.

If you are unable to put their request into writing we must give you as much assistance as we can in order to help you make their request.

Time Limits

Any request for information must be dealt with promptly as the act gives only 20 days to comply. However, 20 days is the maximum and all requests should be dealt with within this period and, in all cases, as soon as possible.

In some instances it may not be possible to deal with the request within the 20 day limit. For instance, the information may be subject to an exemption, and clarifying the situation will take in excess of 20 days. In such cases the Council will provide you with an estimate of when it expects to have dealt with the request.

Unclear Requests

The request for information should describe the information being sought in a way which will enable the Council's officers to find it.

If the request for information is unclear or ambiguous we may have difficulty in finding it. In this situation, therefore, we will help the you to make your application clearer, and so make our job easier. When doing this you do not have to disclose the nature, or reasons behind, your interest. Equally, you will not be treated differently if you do disclose this information.

In a case where the request is unclear and more information is needed to clarify it we will try to contact you as soon as possible, preferably by telephone.

Appropriate assistance that we might give include:

• Referring you to a Freedom of Information Specialist

• Providing access to detailed catalogues and indexes, if these are available, to help establish the nature and extent of information held by your organisation

• Providing a general response to the request setting out options for further information which could be provided on request

If, after providing appropriate assistance, you are still unable to describe the information in a way which will enable us to identify and locate it the Council is not expected to seek further clarification. However it will:

• Disclose any information relating to the application which has been successfully identified

• Explain to you why it cannot take the request any further

And

• Provide details of the complaints procedure

Notification of Fees

If a fee is to be charged for supplying the requested information, written notice will be sent within the 20 day deadline specifying the amount to be charged.

You will then have up to 3 months to pay the fee and, if you do not do so, the request will lapse.

If the fee is not paid the Council does not have to comply with the request for information.

Exemptions to the Act

Vexatious or repeated requests

One of the exemptions to the duty to provide access to information is that of vexatious or repeated requests for information. A 'vexatious request' is not defined in the Act, but could be considered to mean a request that is calculated to be annoying, bothersome or irritating. An example could be repeated requests for information the applicant already has in his or her possession.

The Act specifically states that there is no obligation to comply with repeated requests if the authority has recently responded to an identical or nearly identical request from the same person.

Cost of Compliance

Cost of Compliance: Charges

Public authorities are allowed to charge for certain costs incurred when complying with requests for information.

However, where these costs are estimated to be over £450 in total, the Council does not have to comply with the request for information. We will estimate the cost based on a notional hourly rate of £25, which is set out in the legislation. So, if it will take more than 18 hours to provide the information we do not have to do so.

Exemptions

In addition, however, there are 23 other exemptions relating to the type of information requested that exempt the authority from allowing access to it.

These types of information are split into 2 groups. Those contained within the first of these groups are called 'absolute exemptions' and there is no right of access at all to the information contained within this group. Those contained within the second group are called 'qualified exemptions' and here there must be sufficient grounds for the authority not to disclose them.

Whilst some detail is included below, these exemptions are, in some cases, highly complex. Further information may be gained from the Information Commissioner's web site.

Absolute exemptions

Absolute exemptions are cases where access to the information is completely denied. Included in this exemption is information which is accessible by other means. An example would be information made available under a publication scheme as this would not need to be dealt with as an individual access request.

Absolution exemption also applies to information held about the applicant personally. The reason for this is that such information is made available through the Data Protection Act.

Other absolutely exempt information includes:

• Information intended for future publication
• Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with national security matters
• Court records
• Information subject to parliamentary privilege
• Information provided to the authority in confidence
• Information whose disclosure is prohibited by law

Qualified Exemptions

The qualified exemptions group is trickier to handle as this type of information will only be exempt in certain circumstances.

For the exemption to apply the public interest in maintaining the exemption must be greater than the public interest in disclosing it.

In other words, the case for not disclosing the information must be stronger than the case for disclosing it.

Information subject to qualified exemption includes that relating to:

• Defence
• International relations
• The economy
• Law enforcement
• The formulation of a government policy
• Health and safety
• Communications with the Queen
• Commercial interest

It is important to note that when invoking a qualified exemption the Council must explain and be able to demonstrate why the information cannot be disclosed.

Public Interest Test

The first step in the public interest test is to identify all the public interest factors for and against disclosure of the information.

Once the Council has done this it must then assess the weight of each factor and decide whether the reasons against disclosure outweigh the reasons for disclosure.

Only if the factors against disclosing the information are greater than those for disclosing it, will it refuse the request for information.