Freedom of Information Policy
(effective January 2005)

1.Introduction

This Freedom of Information Policy sets out how we aim to comply with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by taking account of:

1. The Codes of Practice published by the Lord Chancellor in November 2002;

2. Best practice as recommended by the Information Commissioner;

3. the guidance of the Public Records Office on records management; and

4. advice from the Records Management Society of Great Britain on the retention of documents.

The main principle behind the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is the move from “need to know” to “right to know”.

The Council has always dealt with requests for information in an open and helpful manner and will continue to do so.
We will process requests from January 2005 in accordance with the principles behind and the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act.

As a result of the functions the Council undertakes (summarised below), we hold and maintain information on behalf of our community.

That information is held in many forms, including manual and electronic files, correspondence  (including e-mails), and any other types of recorded information that is not personal information.

Bentham Town Council Procedures

Cemetery Maintenance

Local Street Lighting

Market Running & Development

Town Hall Maintenance & Marketing.

The Council’s approach to releasing information is that all information is available unless it can be shown that its release would be against the public interest.

2. The Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act is one of the many ways the Government is seeking to modernise the way public services work.

In particular, it aims to help in making decision-making more accessible and inclusive by granting people the right to know what information public authorities hold.

The Act sets out the rules under which we have to make information available and these include:
(a) A Publication Scheme approved by the Information Commissioner setting out the classes of information we hold and that are publicly available;

(b) The right of any person (or body) to request information held by the Council and a duty on the Council to:

1. confirm whether or not we hold the information

2. subject to the provisions on exemptions and charges, to supply the information within 20 working days;

3. to communicate that information to the person making the request.

(c) exemptions that will, exceptionally, allow the Council to decline requests for information, taking account of the public interest.;

(d) the power to charge for meeting requests for information; and

(e) the introduction of codes of practice on dealing with requests for information, and the keeping, management and destruction of records.

3. Making Information Available

We, like all local councils, have produced our Publication Scheme setting out the types of information the Council publishes.

 This is under constant review to ensure that all possible information is included.
We will manage our records by adopting and maintaining a schedule relating to record retention which will help accessibility to information by recording the types of information we hold, where it is kept and how long we should keep it.

Some of the information we hold is confidential and the Act makes provision for some information to be exempted from disclosure. We will inform those making requests where we consider that information is confidential or exempt.

We will give the reasons for these decisions and tell them how they can appeal against them.

4. Dealing with Requests for information
Any person making a request under the Act for information that is not included in the Publication Scheme must make the request in writing stating the name of the applicant, the address for correspondence and describing the  information requested.

 The Council will give those persons making such requests or proposing to make such requests  any advice and assistance as it is reasonable to expect them to give.

Where the cost of providing the information exceeds the prescribed limit set out in the legislation, we will negotiate  with the person making the request with a view to agreeing what we are able to provide within the resources available.

Where the information requested is available we will communicate it to them as soon as possible.

If it is likely to takelonger than the 20 working days set down in the Act to prepare the information, we will provide all the information we have to date and come to an agreement with the person making the request about a revised deadline for the outstanding information.

 Any requests for extending the period of 20 working days will be on the grounds that:

 we need more detail to help us find the information requested;

we need to consider whether it is in the public interest to give certain information and we will give an estimate of how long this will take;

 or  the person making the request has not paid the required fee.

So far as is reasonably practicable, the Council will give the information to the person making the request in accordance with his / her expressed preference for communicating it if it is by:

providing a copy of the information in a permanent or other acceptable form;

giving them a reasonable opportunity to inspect a record containing the information; or

providing a summary of the information in a permanent or other acceptable form.

Where it is not reasonably practicable to comply with any of those preferences we shall tell the person making the request of the reasons why that is so and communicate the information to them by any means that are reasonable in the circumstances.

There is provision in the Act relating to the handling of a number of related requests for information that appear to be part of an organised campaign. In such cases, the Council is not required to comply with these requests if the
cumulative cost of complying with them may exceed the limit under the regulations. However, in these cases, we will consider whether the information could be disclosed in another, more cost-effective, manner.

5. Who is responsible?

The Chairman of the Council will be responsible for overseeing matters relating to freedom of information.

The Town Clerk will be responsible for:

(a) implementing the procedure for processing requests for information;

(b) advising on and dealing with the practical aspects of requests;

(c) giving advice on complying with the Act; and

(d) keeping the arrangements for dealing with requests and record keeping under review.

6. Contracts and Confidentiality

The Council accepts that there must be good reasons capable of being justified to the Information Commissioner for including confidentiality provisions in contracts.

When entering into contracts with non-public authority contractors, we will seek to avoid inappropraite clauses that may exempt from disclosure information relating to the terms of the contract, its value and performance.

Where, exceptionally, it is necessary to include non-disclosure provisions in a contract, we will clearly identify the information which should not be disclosed.

There may be cases where non-public authority contractors may be regarded as public authorities for the purposes of the Act because they provide a service on behalf of the Council.

The Council will ensure that such contractors are  made aware of the provisions of the Act so far as they relate to the provision of information.

7.  Information Relating to Third Parties

In some cases the disclosure of information may affect the rights of another person or organisation, other than the Council (referred to as a third party). Where that situation arises, we will follow the Lord Chancellor's Code Of
Practice on the discharge of public authorities’ functions under Part I of the Act.

This will involve consulting the third party, so far as it is practicable to do so, with a view seeking their permission to disclose the information requested.

A refusal by a third party to consent to disclosure will not, in itself, mean that the information will be withheld. In all cases it is for the Council to make the final decision on whether or not information will be disclosed under the Act.

8. Transferring Requests

On some occasions, the Council may receive requests for information that we do not hold or hold in part only.

Where the Council receives such a request and we hold some of the information we will process the request in the normal way. Where we believe another public authority holds some or all of the information, we will assist the person making the request by.

telling him / her that information may be held by another public authority;

suggesting (s)he re-applies to the public authority we believe holds the information; andproviding him / her with contact details for that public authority.

or, alternatively consulting with the other public authority to confirm whether it holds the information requested; if so transferring the request to that public authority, subject to consultation in those cases where there are grounds to
believe that the person making the request is likely to object to the transfer; andadvising the person making the request as soon as possible after a transfer has been made.

Where a request is transferred to the Council by another public authority, we will process that request in the same way as if it had been received directly by the Council.

9. Charging for Providing Information

The Council has a discretion whether or not to charge fees for meeting requests for information under the Act. Its approach will be decided taking account of the charges permitted in legislation, and that approach may be varied from time to time.

Generally speaking, it will not be the Council’s intention to charge for all requests for information because, in some cases, it is likely to be uneconomic to make a charge.

So far as the legislation permits, however, the Council will usually charge for the costs of printing and postage involved in meeting requests for information.

Where the Council does make a charge for providing the information, the person making the request will be advised of the fee and no further action will be taken on the request until the fee has been paid.

Where a fee is not paid within 3 months, we will not provide the information.

10. Exemptions and the Public Interest Test

The Freedom of Information Act lists the exemptions that can be applied in deciding whether or not to disclose information. In cases where we apply an exemption, we will explain the reasons for doing that to the person making the request, unless the law provides that we do not have to.

The Act contains a public interest test that applies to the majority of the exemptions. In cases where the public interest test is to be applied to an exemption, a group comprising the Chairman, Town Clerk and two other Councillors will decide whether “the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure”.

In applying the public interest test the group will:

record the agreed benefits and dis-benefits of disclosing the requested information;

take account of examples and case law in deciding where the public interest lies; and

record the reasons as to the final decision on whether or not to disclose.

Author:

Jo Burton: Town Clerk

9 December 2004

Based on Craven DC FOI Policy Draft, 2 November 2004.

( Personal information is dealt with under Data Protection and not Freedom of Information legislation  )