Freedom of information advice

Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) was passed by Government to encourage free and open access to information held by Public Authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There are two main parts to the Act:

  • The requirement for the Authority to develop and maintain a Publication Scheme (Guide to Council services and Information); and
  • The requirement for the Authority to respond to any request for information within twenty working days (in most cases).

Who can make a request?

Under the terms of the FOIA, anyone may make a Freedom of Information request.  There is no age limit, and you do not need to be a resident of the local area, or even the UK.

How long do we have to respond?

In most cases, the Council has 20 working days in which to respond.  There may be a small number of instances where a response may take longer, for example where a case is particularly complex, or where the Council needs to consider the withholding of information.  In these instances, we will notify you if an extension to the timescale is required.

Environmental Information

The Council will treat any request for environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”).  The EIRs are very similar to the Act in that the Council is obliged to respond to requests for information within twenty working days in most cases, and proactively publish environmental information.  Examples of environmental information which the Council might hold would include information about planning, property matters and pollution.

There may be a small number of instances where certain environmental related information may attract a charge.  You will be informed if this is the case and details can be found in the Council’s EIR Fees and Charges Policy.

Our Publication Scheme

The Council’s Publication Scheme commits us to make information available to the public as part of normal business activities. The Publication scheme covers various classes of information, lists the documents available and whether a charge will be made for the information.

Exemptions

Exemptions under FOI, or exceptions under EIR may be applied as appropriate (taking into account legislation and guidance), whilst maintaining and balancing the Council’s commitment to openness, transparency, scrutiny and the public interest.  This may include such information as personal or commercially sensitive data.  If this occurs, we will outline the full reasons for withholding.

Fees

The Council is committed to ensuring that information will be accessible to applicants, irrespective of ability to pay.  Rather than routinely charge fees whenever the cost limit is exceeded, it is our policy to offer advice and assistance to help in submitting a new modified request, capable of being dealt with free of charge.  Where any fee is payable, we will advise of this before the request is met and will take care to ensure that estimated fees are as accurate as possible to prevent over or under charging.

The “appropriate limit”, or cost limit for FOI requests is 18 hours of officer time (or £450).  This is based on legislation at £25 per hour.  No charges to produce the request will be made for FOI requests taking under 18 hours (although disbursements may still apply). To view the FOR EIR Fees and Charges please click here.

Please note however, that where the information is environmental related, this will be dealt with under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs), rather than the FOI Act and in some cases a fee may be payable for supplying information under the EIRs.

Requesting information from the Council

If the information you require is not in the Publication Scheme or elsewhere on our website then you can make a Freedom of Information Request can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and requests for environmental information can be made under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Requests under the Freedom of Information Act must be submitted in writing, but may be hand-written, typed or sent as an email.

Requests under the Environmental Information Regulations can be submitted verbally, although we do encourage written requests under this legislation to ensure that we have as much detail as possible in order to search for and provide the information you have asked for.

Please send your request to:

The Clerk,
Sarah Rimell,
Illogan Parish Council Community Office,
Trevelyan Road,
Illogan,
Redruth,
Cornwall,
TR16 4RG

Email: enquiries@illoganparishcouncil.gov.uk

Please ensure you include your full name, an address for correspondence and as much detail as possible on the information you are seeking.  We may need to come back to you to clarify some aspects if the request is not entirely clear.

In most cases, the Council has 20 working days in which to respond.  There may be a small number of instances where a response may take longer, for example where a case is particularly complex, or where the Council needs to consider the withholding of information.  In these instances, we will notify you if an extension to the timescale is required.

For more information please see our FOI Policy

What if you’re not happy with a response?

If you are dissatisfied with how the Council has handled your request or with the information provided, then you can ask us to review your request and response by way of an Internal Review.  This needs to be requested within 40 working days.  We will then review the request and notify you of the outcome.  If after this you remain dissatisfied then you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at the following address, who will look into the matter for you:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545700

Email: mail@ico.gov.uk

Requesting information about yourself

Individuals already have a right of access to information about themselves under the Data Protection Act 2018.  If the information you require falls into this category, you need to apply in a slightly different way as different rules and regulations apply.