Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives people the right to request information from public authorities.
We have a statutory responsibility to comply with the requirements of the act – in particular being able to respond to requests for information in the correct and appropriate manner.
Requests for information under the FOI Act can be directed to foi@erewash.gov.uk and must be processed within 20 working days, otherwise we may in breach of the act.
Why a Freedom of Information Act is needed
The FOI Act is intended to promote a culture of openness and accountability amongst public sector bodies so the public has a better understanding of how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend public money.
About the Freedom of Information Act
The act provides people a right of access (upon request) to information held by the council. The Act covers all information, regardless of the format or time period in which it was held.
However the Act only covers information currently held by the council and not any information the council previously held that may have been deleted.
Requests have to:
- Be made in writing (this can include electronic requests and email)
- Include a name and address for a response (this can be an email address if the response can be made electronically).
- Provide as much detail as possible in order for the information requested to be identified.
- State the preferred form in which the response should be made (hardcopy, personal viewing or electronically). We will always try to comply with these preferences although this may not always be practicable.
Generally the FOI Act gives you access to information which does not fall under:
- The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) enables people access to information of which they are the subject such as education/medical records or credit reference file.
- The DPA is not restricted to information held by/on behalf of public authorities or those bodies carrying out public function nor is its purpose limited to the right of access to information.
- The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs) enables people access to environmental information. They are restricted to information held by/on behalf of public authorities and those bodies carrying out a public function.
Exemptions
The FOI Act does allow certain exemptions. Examples of areas in which exemptions may apply include such matters where disclosure may constitute a contempt of court or there are overriding commercial interests.
However exemptions will require detailed and careful consideration before being used as a valid reason not to disclose information. In many cases a general public interest test will apply in determining whether information can be released.
The FOI Act may cover all requests for information held by us. In most cases, personal data is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and should always be dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. It is worth noting however that personal data considered to be 'in the public interest' may be requested and disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.
FOI requests on Social Media
We will accept Freedom of Information requests via our main X and Facebook accounts as long as they are submitted from an identified person or organisation. More guidance on this is provided by The Information Commissioner’s Office.
How to access information under the FOI Act?
There are two routes to accessing information via FOI. Anybody can obtain information from us from an approved Publication Scheme. However, if the information is not included in the publication scheme, people can make a separate request under the General Right of Access to information.
As part of the drive to create a proactive, openness culture within the public sector, the act requires us to adopt, publish and maintain a 'Publication Scheme', essentially a guide to interested parties, divided into "classes of information", which sets out details of the types of information we routinely publish.
Before you request an FOI
Check both our Disclosure Log and Open Data page to see if the information is already in the public domain.
Charges
The charges relating to Freedom of information are somewhat complicated but are explained in the our FOI Charging Policy.
Ensuring we comply with the FOI Act
We have a Information Officer with responsibility for:
- Rights of access to information under Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- Determining how to deal with a request.
- Providing a source of advice and support for council staff.
- Acting as the conduit through which legal advice on the legislation is sought and given (with advice from the our Legal officers).
- Providing advice and assistance to people who have made, or are thinking of making a request.
The Information Officer can be contacted on 0115 907 2244 ext 3579.
Read the council's FOI Policy 2023
Re-using information supplied under the Freedom of Information Act
In the United Kingdom most information produced by the public sector is subject to copyright protection.
The supply of documents to you by us (for example under the FOIA) does not give you a right to re-use them in a way that would infringe that copyright, for example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public.
Brief extracts of any of the material may be reproduced without our permission, under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research, private study, and, subject to an acknowledgement of ourselves as the copyright owner, criticism, review and news reporting. But wider re-use requires our permission.
We may choose to allow re-use under licence, imposing conditions on the re-use of the information to ensure it is not used in a manner inconsistent with our copyright; and we may also decide to charge a re-use fee.
For authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by us, you should contact the copyright holders direct.