Freedom of Information Toolkit 2015

Contents

1. Purpose of Toolkit / Page 3
2. Duties
3. Identifying a Request
4. Receipt of a Request / Page 4
5. Timescales / Page 5
6. Logging Enquiries / Page 6
7. Dealing with Enquiries
8. Exemptions/ Refusals / Page 7
9. Requests for information about the enquirer / Page 8
10. Different Formats for Response / Page 9
11. Publication Scheme
12. Charging
13. Copyright
14. Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations / Page 10
15. Transferring a request outside of East Dunbartonshire Council
16. Requests for review / Page 11
17. Contacts
18. Appendix 1: Freedom of Information Policy / Page 12
19. Appendix 2: Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 / Page 16
20. Appendix 3: Personal Data / Page 18
21. Appendix 4: Freedom of Information Enquiries Procedure / Page 20
22. Appendix 5: Logging On a Freedom of Information Enquiry / Page 21
23. Appendix 6: Logging Off a Freedom of Information Enquiry / Page 22
24. Appendix 7: East Dunbartonshire Council Standard Response / Page 25
25. Appendix 8: Exemption Guidance / Page 26
  1. Purpose of Toolkit
1.1On the 1 January 2005 the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gave anyone, anywhere, the right to request recorded information from a Scottish Public Authority.
This document provides advice and guidance for East Dunbartonshire Council employees on handling these requests. The advice and guidance provided in this document is in line with the Scottish Ministers Code of Practice for the Discharge of Functions under the Freedom of Information (Scotland Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Further guidance can be obtained from the website of the Scottish Information Commissioner and the Council’s Freedom of Information Officer/ Data Protection Officer.
  1. Duties
2.1All Council employees must be aware that Freedom of Information legislation has resulted in a cultural change as to how requests for information are dealt with. This change has been actively encouraged by East Dunbartonshire Council.
2.2All employees should be aware of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and its implications for East Dunbartonshire Council as a Scottish Public Authority.
2.3Directors and senior managers are responsible for ensuring that this guidance is incorporated into local policies and procedures. These officers will also be involved in answering complex Freedom of Information enquiries and making decisions on exemptions and public interest tests.
2.4Information requests are likely to be received by front line employees. These employees should familiarise themselves with this guidance.
2.5Responsibility for compliance with Freedom of Information within the Council lies with the Director of Finance and Shared Services assisted by the Freedom of Information/ Data Protection Officer.
  1. Identifying a request
3.1Freedom of Information works in conjunction with other information access regimes, these are outlined below. Unless otherwise stated, Freedom of Information does not override any existing legislation.The guidance below will help officers to identify which access regime(s) should be followed for particular enquiries. Some enquiries will be subject to more than one regime.
3.2Requests for Council Services
A request for a service provided by the Council, e.g. a request for housing, uplift of waste etc., this type of request is not dealt with under Freedom of Information but should to be passed to the appropriate service and treated under that services appropriate policies and procedures.
3.3Requests for Recorded Council Information
A request for information about the Council, the decisions it makes, its processes and functions. This includes all information recorded from meetings (minutes), to written policies and emails. Requests for recorded information are Freedom of Information requests. These requests must be in a permanent recorded format, normally by letter or email. These enquiries must be answered within 20 Working Days.
3.4Requests for Personal Information
You may receive a request for personal information which asks for this information under the Freedom of Information Act. However, if the enquirer is requesting personal information about themselves (or about another individual and can prove they are acting as that person’s legal representative) then the information can not be provided under Freedom of Information. This is a Subject Access Request and must be dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998.
3.5Requests for Environmental Information
Requests for information about the environment, earth, air, water, living organisms, or any force or activity that could affect the environment or human health is dealt with under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations (EIR). Such a request can be made verbally and will usually be answered within 20 working days.
  1. Receipt of Request
4.1Requests for information may be received anywhere within the organisation.
4.2It is the responsibility of the employee who receives the request, in conjunction with their line manager and the appropriate FOI Contact for the service area to ensure that the request is passed directly to the person best suited to answer it. This may be a colleague in their own department or within another service area. The initial recipient may be required to complete some investigation work to identify the most appropriate person.
4.3If you are in any doubt about where responsibility for a Freedom of Information enquiry should rest, the request should be passed to the appropriate FOI Contact for your Service or to the Freedom of Information Officer to take appropriate action. This process should be completed on the day the request was received.
4.4A valid Freedom of Information enquiry must:
a)be in a permanent form that can be referred back to – this includes letter, email, voicemail, cassette or video recording.
b)Be for information that is not available via the Council’s Publication Scheme
c)Include a real name, with an address/email address to which a reply can be sent.
d)Include a description of the information requested
4.5Applicants do not have to refer to the Freedom of Information Act in their request.
4.6Freedom of Information enquiries cannot be submitted verbally. However some enquiries may be easily dealt with over the telephone and officers should continue to deal with these accordingly.
4.7All officers have a duty to provide advice and assistance to potential applicants who wish to submit a Freedom of Information enquiry, even if it is felt the request will likely be refused.
4.8If it is unclear from an enquiry what information is actually being requested, then officers should respond to an enquirer asking them to be more specific. This may mean politely phoning, emailing or writing back to them asking them for further information. This needs to be done as soon as possible after receiving the request. The 20 working day clock will restart when an applicant responds with sufficient information to make the information requested identifiable. The enquiry can then be answered or refusal notice issued as appropriate. The Council can be censured for delaying to seek additional clarification.
4.9The Council does not have the right to insist an applicant tells us why they require the requested information.
  1. Timescales
5.1All Freedom of Information requests must be answered in full within 20 working days. The 20 working day period begins at the time the request is received by the council NOT from the point it reaches the correct department/person.
5.2It is essential that all employees:
a) are aware of Freedom of Information procedures
b) that responsibly for a request is determined immediately
c) that all enquiries are logged within the Freedom of Information database,
d) that post is checked daily
e) that requests for information are dealt with by colleagues in an absence,
f) that all officers take advantage of the automated ‘out of office’ email message to ensure enquirers are redirected to the most appropriate person.
5.3In cases of unexpected absence, line managers must ensure that an appropriate ‘out of office’ message can be applied to officers email accounts.
5.4For officers, who frequently receive Freedom of Information requests, departments should put procedures in place to ensure that their email is checked in their absence
5.5Post should be date stamped/marked on receipt by the Council. This will help calculate the 20 day deadline and ensure a response is issued within the appropriate time.
5.6A working day is the normal office hours of the Council, i.e. Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm excluding bank holidays and weekends. All Freedom of Information enquiries must be answered within 20 working days, regardless of officer absence, flexible working, job-sharing or part-time working.
5.7The 20 working day clock stops when the information is sent to the applicant or when a fees notification/refusal notice is issued.
  1. Logging Enquiries
6.1East Dunbartonshire Council has a Freedom of Information Database on which the Council’s enquiries must all be logged.
6.2The 20 working day timescale to respond to Freedom of Information enquiries means that it is vital that all Freedom of Information enquiries are logged immediately on the Tracking Database for monitoring. The database is available via Lotus Notes.
6.3The tracking database records brief details of enquiries. It will send out helpful reminder emails and can help ensure enquiries are responded to within the 20 working day timescale. If you require access to the tracking database please contact the Information and Records Team.
6.4In all cases a copy of the information request should be passed to the Information Management Team to alert them to the request so it can be monitored.
6.5It is possible that a request for information will require collaboration between one or more Council service area in order to provide a full response. In such occasions a single answer should be issued.
6.6Where the information required for a response is held by more than one service area the request will be allocated to one Directorate which will co-ordinate a response on behalf of the Council.
6.7Under no circumstances should the recipient write back to the enquirer saying that they have contacted the wrong person/department.
  1. Dealing withEnquiries
7.1Each enquiry must be answered within 20 Working days of receipt. If this is not possible the Directorate with responsibility should write to the individual advising that we have failed to meet the statutory timescales and provide a date by which the enquirer can expect the response. However, such a situation is a breach of the Act and must be avoided.
7.2Every question or issue raised by in enquiry must be addressed. No question should ever be ignored.
7.3Where the Council is unable to provide the information requested, we must tell the enquirer why this is the case.
7.4On completion of a Freedom of Information request, a copy of the initial enquiry with the Council’s response should be forwarded to the Freedom of Information Officer for filing. This will allow us to monitor Freedom of Information enquiries and ensure that if a request for review is received the information is readily available.
7.5The applicant can request a preference as to the format in which the information is provided e.g. particular file formats, on tape, large print, Braille (see section 12 below). The Council should as far as reasonable possible, respect this request. Otherwise the information can be provided as:
  • A written digest of the information requested
  • Photocopies of documents, with exempt information redacted (blacked out)
  • An invitation to come and view the documents in person (if practical)
7.6Employees within each service are able to provide local guidance. The Freedom of Information Officer is also available to provide help and advice.
7.7You may wish to contact these people when:
a) You are unsure who should deal with a particular request
b) A request is asking for particularly sensitive information
c) A request where officers time and photocopying will exceed £600
d) A request that you are likely to refuse, except in cases where you are sure the council does not hold the information requested.
e) If you are interested in receiving Freedom of Information training.
7.8On responding to a Freedom of Information enquiry from a member of the press a copy should also be passed to Press and Publicity for information.
7.9On completion of a Freedom of Information request, a copy of the initial enquiry with the Council’s response should be forwarded to the Freedom of Information Officer for filing. This will allow us to monitor Freedom of Information enquiries and ensure that if a request for review is received the information is readily available.
  1. Exemptions/Refusals
8.1Not all information must be released under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act. There are a total of 17 absolute and non-absolute exemptions.
8.2If the Council feels that we cannot release requested information, then we must provide a clear justifiable reason why this is the case. Professional embarrassment is not an exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.
8.3Information on exemptions is included in Appendix 8.
8.4Absolute Exemptions
  • Information otherwise available – information in the publication scheme or published elsewhere (regardless of whether this may cost the applicant to access)
  • Information that if disclosed could constitute a breach of confidence
  • When other legislation prohibits the release of the information
  • Personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998
8.5Non-Absolute Exemptions
  • These exemptions are subject to the ‘public interest’ test. Does the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweigh the pubic interest in disclosing it? These must be assessed on an individual basis. These include:
  • Information to be published within 12 weeks.
  • Law enforcement information
  • Commercially sensitive information or Information that may prejudice commercial interests
  • Information that if disclosed could endanger the health and safety of an individual.
  • A refusal notice can be issued if the cost of dealing with a request exceeds £600. This must be an accurate assessment of the cost of retrieving the information. The Council is obliged to provide the enquirer with a detailed estimate of the costs in our response.
  • A refusal notice can be issued if a request is considered to be vexatious or is a repeat of the same or similar request from the same individual. If you believe this is the case please contact the Freedom of Information Officer.
Exemptions/refusals must be handled carefully and if there is any doubt please contact the Freedom of Information Officer.
8.6If an enquiry or part of an enquiry is subject to an exemption and is being refused, the response should include a refusal notice. Refusal notice templates are included in Appendices.
  • A refusal notice should contain the following information:
  • Notice that the Council does or does not hold the information
  • Details of the exemption being claimed, including the appropriate section of the Act.
  • Why the exemption applies
  • If the exemption is subject to the public interest test – include the reason for claiming the public interest in exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure
  • Information about how to request a review.
All refusal notices covering non-absolute exemptions should be checked by the Freedom of Information Officer before they are issued.
  1. Requests for information about the enquirer
9.1Individuals may ask for information about themselves through a Freedom of Information enquiry.
9.2As any response to a Freedom of Information enquiry is considered to have been made publically available the Council is unable to provide that information under FOI.
9.3Requests for the personal information of the applicant should be processed under the Data Protection Act 1998.
9.4These requests should be passed on to the Information Management Team who will respond to the enquirer in order to process a Subject Access Request
  1. Different formats for response
10.1The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act place a duty on public authorities to be sensitive to the requirements of disabled applicants. Therefore, where reasonable, information should be provided in the format requested, this could include large print, Braille or audio recording.
10.2Applicants may also request information be provided in a minority language. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 require that local authorities consider such requests.
10.3It is the responsibility of the department dealing with the Freedom of Information enquiry to provide such formats and cover any costs. Public Affairs can help in producing information in alternative formats and languages.
  1. Publication Scheme
11.1The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act requires all public authorities to produce and maintain a Publication Scheme. The publication scheme lists all classes of information the council publishes, in what format it is published and if there is a charge for this information.
11.2Information published through the publication scheme is exempt from disclosure under Freedom of Information.If an enquirer requests information available through the publication scheme they should be directed to the appropriate section of the website or a copy of the information should be provided at a cost of 10p/A4 sheet or as priced in the publication scheme.
11.3The publication scheme is available on the HUB and the East Dunbartonshire Council’s website.
  1. Charging
12.1If the cost of answering an enquiry will be between £100 and £600, including officers’ time and photocopying, then charges can be levied in line with the fees regulations set down by the Scottish Executive.
However, East Dunbartonshire Council does not impose these charges.
12.2The fees regulations allow that:
  • Over £600 and the request can be refused on grounds of excessive cost
  • The first £100 cost of an enquiry will be free
  • Between £100 and £600 costs can be charged at 10%
  • Staff time is calculated at a maximum of £15 per hour. This must be an accurate reflection of the employee(s)’ hourly rate (if less than £15).
12.3Fees can be charged for:
  • The cost of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested
  • Providing the information in the requested format, e.g. CD-ROM, photocopies
12.4Fees cannot be charged for:
  • Deciding if we hold the information in the first place.
  • Deciding what information should be released.
  • For providing information in an alternative format as per the Council’s duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
12.5The cost for responding to an enquiry should be calculated before the enquiry is answered and within the 20 working day deadline. A fees noticeneeds to be issued and the enquiry only needs to be answered on payment of the fee. The payment must be received within 3 months.
12.6A fee notice template is included in Appendix 7. The notice must include:
  • A breakdown of how the fee has been calculated – showing officers costs, photocopying etc.
  • A clear statement that the enquiry will not be answered until the fee is paid and that payment must be received within 3 months
  • Information on how to request a review within 40 working days.
12.7If a fee is paid and during the completion of the request it becomes apparent that the applicant has been overcharged, the Council must consider refunding the difference.