Freedom of Information
Access to information and Freedom of Information (FOI)
We are committed to the principle of openness and transparency in our work; and seek to publish - in an accessible form - as much information about our functions, decisions and operations as possible.
Freedom of Information
Under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, anyone is entitled to request information. It establishes a general right of access to recorded information held by public authorities, subject to certain exemptions, and places a number of obligations on public authorities. (Note that the FOI Act does not cover requests for an applicant’s personal data. Such requests will continue to be subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act.)
Two of the main features of the FOI Act are:
- A general right to receive information that we hold, subject to certain conditions and exemptions (and where possible, in the manner requested, for instance as a copy or summary, or the applicant may ask to inspect a record).
- In cases where information is exempted from disclosure, except where an absolute exemption applies, there is a duty on the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) to:
- inform the applicant whether we hold the information; and
- communicate that information to the applicant (unless the public interest in maintaining the exemption in question outweighs the public interest in disclosure).
Individual rights of access come into effect from 1 January 2005. The Act is fully retrospective. Further information can be found from the Information Commissioner’s website and the Department for Constitutional Affairs website.
Our Publication Scheme
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, public authorities must have what is called a ‘publication scheme’, setting out what information they will make readily available and how this information can be obtained.
We have adopted the new model publication scheme introduced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on 1 January 2009. The information in our publication scheme falls into the following six classes of information:
- Who we are and what we do - Our role and responsibilities, the legislation that established us, senior staff biographies, contact details etc
- What we spend and how we spend it - Our income and expenditure, procurement policy, contracts awarded, financial audits etc
- What our priorities are and how we are doing - Our strategic plans, annual reports, performance reviews, service standards etc
- How we make decisions - Our decision making processes and the records of our decisions.
- Our policies and procedures - Current written policies and procedures, for example procedures for staff selection and recruitment.
- Lists and registers - Information held in currently maintained lists and registers, for example our register of interests.
(Please note that the ICO’s model scheme has an additional class of information - ‘The services we offer’. In our publication scheme, information in this class is covered by information already provided in the other information classes).
Further information
To request a copy of OFFA’s Publication Scheme, or for further information contact:
Jean Arnold
Operations and Research Manager
OFFA
Northavon House
Coldharbour Lane
BRISTOL
BS16 1QD
e-mail: enquiries@offa.org.uk
tel. 0117 931 7171
fax. 0117 931 7083