Introduction
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives anyone the right to ask for access to any recorded information that is held by a public authority in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by UK-wide public authorities based in Scotland. Public authorities include:
- government departments
- local authorities
- the NHS
- state schools
- police forces.
Recorded information includes printed documents, computer files, letters, emails, photographs, and sound or video recordings.
The act does not give people access to their own personal data, such as health records, but people can request this through a data protection subject access request.
Freedom of information policy
The council must complete valid freedom of information requests received, subject to conditions and exemptions, and do so within a specific time limit.
If the customer isn’t happy with the outcome of their request, an internal review may be required to check whether the request was handled correctly.
The freedom of information policy document can be found on our corporate website.
Submit a freedom of information request
If you would like to submit a freedom of information request, follow the steps below.
1Fill in the online form or email us
If you'd like to complete the online form:
Alternatively you can email your request:
What you'll need to provide
On the online form or in the email, you will need to include:
- your full name
- your correspondence address or email address (depending on how you'd like to be contacted about the request)
- the service relevant to the request
- full details of the information you are requesting
- any supporting information or photos you have.
2What happens next
The information governance and feedback team will work on your request and contact you with the relevant information or to ask further questions, if required. If they need longer than 20 working days to complete the request they will let you know.
Forward a freedom of information request
A request submitted to you does not need to mention the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to be valid.
If a request cannot be dealt with as normal business and the information is not already public, it must be considered under the FOIA.
If you have received a written request directly to you or your team, follow the steps below.
1Contact the information governance and feedback team
You must forward any written requests to the information governance and feedback team on the same working day that you receive them. Make sure you include all the details. You can:
2Contact the applicant
You should contact the person who made the request to let them know:
- you have forwarded the request to the information governance team
- they should receive a response within 20 working days or be told otherwise
- there is usually no charge for requests but if the administration cost is more than £450 (£25 per hour), the request maybe refused.
3What happens next
The information governance and feedback team will work on the freedom of information request and contact the individual with the relevant information or to ask further questions, if required. If they need longer than 20 working days to complete the request they will let the applicant know.
Link officers
Each service has a link officer who is responsible for processing freedom of information requests. You can find the details of your link officer in the document below: