Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act gives rights to citizens, enabling them to ask public bodies such as the council for any information they hold. To make it easier for you, here is a brief guide to getting information from the council.

Changes in the law mean that anyone can ask public bodies for information they hold. From 1 January 2005, the Freedom of Information Act gave people new rights to see information.

A lot of the information published by the council is easily accessible via this website. The site includes a document known as a Publication Scheme – a guide to the types of information that the council routinely publishes. You can ask to see the scheme and to see anything listed in it. It also includes the council's complaints procedure. This would be used in the unlikely event that you are dissatisfied with the response you receive.

To ask for this, or for any other information held by the council, you must apply in writing (such as letter, fax or email). Details of where to send your request and a Freedom of Information website form are provided on our contact details for information requests page.

Requests must include the applicant's name, and the address for correspondence (email address and/or home address). You must also give a description of the information required and the format in which you want it.

The rules say the council must respond in 20 working days. It won’t be able to supply certain types of information which are exempt from the Freedom of Information legislation. This could include personal details or confidential data, such as commercially sensitive matters. If the information you want is exempt, we will write and let you know.

We have produced a leaflet that guides you through making a Freedom of Information request. The leaflet is available to download:

Note: The above document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need a suitable reader to view it. A reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided on the site).

More information

Further information is available on the links below: