Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act has allowed many people to access to much of the
Council’s recorded information. The following pages will provide advice about the Act, what you
can see and other useful information.
Top tips for
making a request for information
First have a look at the Council’s Publication Scheme - (That’s the list of what
we publish as a matter of course). It’s available either on the website or as a printed document. You
may discover that we already publish some or all of what you hope to find. Or have a look at the previous
requests that NDDC has received.
Talk to us about your request – we really do want to help and by talking we maybe
able to provide the information you want simply and quickly.
Be clear and give us some clues – any names, dates, previous contacts, file references,
site locations, etc. that you can give us will make the job of tracking down the information much easier
especially when it is a few years old.
Focus the request – If looking for the information, retrieving it and editing or
preparing it takes longer than 18 hours (that equates to a £450 charge) we may have to refuse the request.
So don’t ask for, "… everything you have on…” but try to refine it to what you really need such
as, … information relating to the decision made at…” or, the correspondence about … between (dates)…”.
Important points to consider:
- We don’t record everything
- We can’t keep it forever
- We
don’t have joined-up computer databases – we have lots of systems in many different locations
- We
can’t give you personal information about other people
- We do
want to help you (Our average response time for a request is about 5 working days and the quickest response
was 45 seconds!!!)
- Publication Scheme
You can find out more via our frequently asked questions
Asking for officers contact
details under the FOI
We often receive requests such as:
“I would like to make a request under the freedom of
information act. Could you please send me the following contact details for the following key personnel:
Chief Executive
Head
of Finance
Head of IT
Head of Procurement
Head of Human
Resources
Could you please their direct contact number, contact
name and direct email address.”
Please be aware that in order for key officers and
their supporting staff to undertake their duties it is important that they are not disturbed by, for
example, marketing and sales calls or emails. Therefore NDDC does not routinely provide direct
contact details – even if asked as part of an FOI request. You will be supplied with the main
council number, address and email (customerservices@north-dorset.gov.uk)
for any request for contact details.
Publication Scheme
The Council has worked in partnership with other local authorities in Dorset to
develop a publication scheme, which will help you find out more about what we do and how we have arrived
at decisions.
All local authorities are being encouraged, under the Freedom of Information Act
2000, to promote greater access to recorded information, and must publish the different 'types' or 'classes'
of information that are available.
We have included information in our Publication Scheme that we think will be of
interest to the public. However, we may not have included everything that we have normally made available
on request in the past. If you do not find what you are looking for through the Scheme please contact
the appropriate section or department of the Council. If appropriate, the information will be included
within the published catalogue for others to view.
From the 1st January 2005 you have had a general right of access to recorded information
held by the Council.
Click the links below to access further information:
How you can use the information you
receive
New regulations governing the re-use of public sector information came into force
on 1st July 2005. We are required to make information available for re-use, give permission for that
re-use, and in some circumstances, we can charge for the information.
These new regulations do not affect access to information through the Freedom of
Information Act. Likewise, any information that is deemed exempt under FOI will not be available through
the re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations.
To distinguish between the PSI Regulations and Freedom of Information Act simply:
- FOI is about access to information and does not give an automatic right
to re-use the information
- PSI Regulations permit the re-use of local authority information
and may involve licensing and charging for the re-use of our documents if that re-use is for commercial
gain
We already make huge amounts of information available for re-use in the form of
electronic documents, leaflets and hard copies of publications. The majority of this information may
be re-used free of charge providing our copyright is acknowledged.
You may reproduce our copyright protected content, free of charge, without specific
permission, provided you are not reproducing it for profit, material or financial gain. You must reproduce
the material accurately and not use it in a misleading context. If you are republishing the material
or issuing it to others, you must acknowledge its source, copyright status and date of publication if
known. The permission to reproduce North Dorset District Council; copyright protected material does
not extend to any material that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. You must seek
authorisation to reproduce such material from the copyright holder concerned.
The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) takes the lead for the UK implementation
of The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005. They are at the heart of information policy,
setting standards and providing a practical framework for the re-use of information. For full details
of the regulations and guidance, click on the following link to the OPSI website for more information
www.opsi.gov.uk
What about the Environment?
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) came into force on 1 January 2005, replacing
the former regulations which were in place since December 1992, giving members of the public the right
to access environmental information held by public authorities.
What is environment information?
Environmental information covers information on the state of the environment, such
as:
- Air, water, soil, land, flora and fauna (including human beings), diversity,
genetically modified organisms
- Information on emissions and discharges, noise, energy, radiation, waste and other such
substances
- Measures and activities such as policies, plans and agreements
- Reports, cost benefit and economic analyses
- The state of human health and safety, contamination of the food chain
- Cultural sites and built structures (as they may be affected by environmental factors)
Where can I get further information
about the Regulations?
Further information about these Regulations is available on the Defra website
at the following link: Environmental Information Regulations.
How do I make
a request?
Requests can be made verbally or in writing. You can write into us at the main council
address
One last thing...
If you want to see personal information that we have recorded about you then you
need to apply under the Data Protection Act. There is a special form for this and (possibly) a
standard £10 charge. Visit the web ages here for more information:
You can make a request via post (NDDC, Norden, Salisbury Road, Blandford Forum,
Dorset DT11 7LL or email: foi@north-dorset.gov.uk)
For more information contact the Freedom of Information Officer on (01258) 484018 or e-mail us. |
