Guidance for Handling Information Requests

Guidance for Handling Information Requests

Introduction

1. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) was introduced to help bring about a culture of openness within the public sector so that the information held by public authorities is available and accessible to all, both within and outside the communities they serve. It gives the public access to most structured information held by the council, unless it is appropriate for the Council to apply a legal exemption.

2. A separate but parallel process under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) provides for access by the public to environmental information. An outline of what constitutes environmental information is set out in Appendix 1.

3. Individuals also have a right to access personal data held by the Council which relates to them. Such requests are made under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) and are referred to as 'Subject Access Requests'.

4. The Council must comply with the relevant statutory regime when answering an information request. This guidance note sets out the Council’s approach to meeting its statutory obligations for the assistance of officers.

Roles and responsibilities

5. The process maps in Appendix 2 summarise the pathway of an information request received by the Council.

6. Corporate directors are responsible for signing off responses from their portfolio areas, although in practice directors may delegate that responsibility. Each directorate has a lead officer for information requests who is responsible for coordinating responses within the directorate. The directorate lead will be the point of contact with the corporate Complaints and Information team (CCIT). Officers within directorates must provide responses when requested, so that the Council can meet its statutory obligations.

7. The CCIT is responsible for logging information requests, directing them to the correct service areas, and ensuring that responses are sent. The CCIT provides advice on the handling of information requests, particularly the application of exemptions under the FOIA, EIR and DPA. Typically the CCIT will need to see what information the Council holds before being able to advise on the application of any exemptions.

Timeframes

8. Upon receipt of an information request, the Council is required to respond as soon as possible. Without weakening that general obligation, the legislation then sets absolute deadlines –

 The Council has 20 working days to respond to written requests under the FOIA and EIR.

 The Council has 40 calendar days to respond to Subject Access Requests under the DPA.

9. If the Council does not comply with these deadlines, then the applicant may complain to the Information Commissioner.

Recognising and logging information requests

10. Officers who receive information requests should notify the CCIT, so that the requests can be logged and tracked. Routine requests for information that are the normal business of the service area (e.g. Leaflets, benefits process / eligibility guidance, accommodation lists) do not need to be logged, but if uncertain, officers should seek advice from the CCIT.

11. We all need to be mindful that an applicant need not mention the FOIA in order to make a valid request for information. Therefore any email or letter making a request for information needs to be considered as a request and forwarded for registration by the CCIT. Under the Environmental Information Regulations, valid requests may also be made verbally and a record of the request also needs to be passed to the CCIT for registration.

12. Once registered the request can be tracked and monitored to ensure we meet our statutory obligations. The CCIT will refer each information request to the relevant directorate lead officers for response. The directorate lead will determine who is best placed to handle the request within the directorate.

13. It may be the case that information relating to a request will be held by more than one person or in more than one service area in the Council. Sometimes it will be difficult to identify the person or persons who should be handling the response. Officers who are asked to prepare responses to information requests should notify the CCIT promptly if –

 They do not hold relevant information

 They do hold relevant information but consider that others may also hold relevant information

14. The CCIT will then assist to locate other officers who may assist in responding to the request.

15. If an information request under the FOIA or EIR relates to a named officer, then the CCIT should copy the request to that officer at the same time as sending it to the directorate lead.

Member enquiries

16. The Council operates a separate system of providing information to elected members. The procedure for dealing with member enquiries (MEs) is set out at –

17. Unlike other requests for information, the Council does not publish its responses to MEs but instead provides the responses on a confidential basis to the member who made the request.

18. The extent of a member’s right to information is addressed in the Council’s Member/Officer Protocol. The Protocol recognises that in many instances members have no greater right to information held by the Council than ordinary members of the public.

19. In some cases where the member has no greater right to information than an ordinary member of the public, the corporate director may take the view that the request should be dealt with as a request under the FOIA or EIR rather than as a member enquiry. One reason for taking such an approach is that the request is wide-ranging and there is a need to ensure that consideration is given to the application of potential exemptions. Another reason for doing so may be that it is considered appropriate for the information to be disclosed generally, rather than confidentially to the member.

20. If a decision is taken to treat an ME as a request under the FOIA or EIR, then the member should be informed promptly of the approach being taken and the reasons for that decision. The CCIT should forthwith be provided with both the ME and the corporate director’s notification to the member.

Sensitive requests

21. The subject matter of some information requests will be sensitive. This is not due to any legislative provision, but the Council’s own view about the impact which disclosure may have on the discharge of the Council’s functions. For example, the information request may relate to a named officer or to a policy that is still being developed.

22. Sensitive requests should be –

 Designated as sensitive by the CCIT.

 Referred by the directorate lead to a senior officer.

 Copied to the Head of Communications.

 Reviewed by the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) or Head of Legal Services – Community before disclosure.

23. Any requests identified as media sensitive at the time of request, including those received from journalists should be copied to the Head of Communications for initial comment at the same time as being passed to the relevant directorate. Directorates may also chose to forward requests to communications for advice before finalising their responses.

Compiling a Response

24. The Council has two primary duties when responding to information requests under the FOIA –

 To confirm or deny whether it holds the information.

 To communicate information held which falls within the request.

25. In some cases the Council relevantly holds information held by third parties. This may occur, for example, if council business has been conducted from private email accounts. If there is any doubt about the extent of the search required, then advice should be sought from the CCIT.

26. If information is already published by the Council, or readily obtainable from another organisation, it may be exempt under Section 21, as it is accessible by other means. If you believe this to be the case, please notify the CCIT.

27. When compiling the response, any officers directly referred to, or third party organisation mentioned should be alerted to the request in so far as it is relevant to them and their interests.

28. If the request may take longer than 18 hours to compile, then an exemption may apply under the FOIA. If it is thought that more than 18 hours will be required, then the basis for that calculation should be provided to the CCIT as soon as possible. The Information Commissioner may closely scrutinise such estimates, so the CCIT will query estimates to ensure they are robust.

29. It is important that the Council provides consistent responses to information requests. All officers involved in the preparation of a response should consider whether there have been other relevant responses given and check that the instant response is consistent with any other responses. If you recall a similar request being answered by your service area previously, you may check for previous responses in the following location –

30. If the information is already placed in the public domain either by the Council or another body, in most cases all you need to do is tell the applicant where it is and how to get it. We can all help minimise FOI requests by keeping records in good order so the latest up to date information is easy to find.

31. It is essential to respond to all elements of an information request. Failure to do so may lead to a review request and further work for all concerned.

32. It is essential that compliance with deadlines and the progression of authorisation is monitored by the directorate leads.

Exemptions

33. Information about common exemptions is provided on the Council’s Intranet at –

34. If it is considered that an exemption may apply which should prevent the Council from either confirming or denying it holds the information, or from disclosing the information, then advice should be sought from the CCIT or Head of Legal Services – Community.

35. In order to advise on the application of exemptions, the CCIT will need to see the information held.

Local Sign Off

36. Directorate responses should be forwarded to the director (or delegate) for sign off before the 12th day. The director, with his or her management team will seek to provide uniformity of information released from within their area, (through FOI, EIR, Members Enquiries etc.) If exemptions are to be applied, then draft wording will be provided by the CCIT and returned to the director to agree.

Communications sign-off

37. Sensitive requests should be referred to the Head of Communications for comment. Such comments should be provided within 48 hours of referral.

Final draft to CCIT

38. Once agreed by the corporate director, the reply must be forwarded by the directorate lead to the CCIT. This should be done by the 15th day. If a response is not received, without satisfactory explanation, then the CCIT may escalate the request to the relevant service head or corporate director.

39. The CCIT will arrange for responses to sensitive requests to be reviewed by the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal Services) or the Head of Legal Services – Community.

40. The CCIT will format and dispatch responses to information requests. Unless there is some reason not to, responses will be published on the disclosure log, linked to the Council’s web pages.

Appendix 1 – Environmental Information

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 define “environmental information” by reference to Article 2(1) of EU Directive 2003/4/EC. This covers any information in written, visual, aural, electronic or any other material form on –

• The state of the elements of the environment, such as air and atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural sites including wetlands, coastal and marine areas, biological diversity and its components, including genetically modified organisms, and the interaction among these elements;

• Factors affecting or likely to affect the elements of the environment, such as noise or waste.

• Measures (including administrative measures), such as policies, legislation, plans, programmes, environmental agreements, and activities affecting or likely to affect the elements of the environment and factors affecting them.

• Cost-benefit and other economic analyses and assumptions used within the framework of these measures and activities.

• Reports on the implementation of environmental legislation.

• The state of human health and safety, including the contamination of the food chain, where relevant, conditions of human life, cultural sites and built structures inasmuch as they are or may be affected by the state of the elements of the environment or, through those elements, by any of the factors, measures or activities referred to above.

Version 1 3 April 2013

Guidance for Handling Information Requests

Version 1 3 April 2013

Guidance for Handling Information Requests

Version 1 3 April 2013