The London Borough Of Hillingdon and the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:
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Contents
Introduction
Pg1
Information
For
Staff
Pg3
London
• How Does the Freedom of Information Act work?
• Who has a right of access?
• Do they have to justify why they need access?
• How does an individual make a request for information under the Act?
Borough
• How do we respond to a Request?
• Can we charge for the Information?
• How long do we have to respond to a request?
• Are there circumstances where we can refuse a request for information?
• How do we refuse a request?
of
• Who has responsibility within the London Borough of Hillingdon for Freedom
Hillingdon
of Information?
Policy
on
handling
Requests
Pg6
• Advice and Assistance
• Charging for Requests
• Handling requests that appear as part of an Organised Campaign
• Transferring requests for Information
• Consultation with third parties
• Refusal of requests
• Complaints Procedure
Policy
on
Charging
for
Requests
Procedure
for
Handling
Request Pg10
Procedure of dealing with Complaints
Pg14
Approved version
Approved by Management Board 03/11/04
The London Borough Of Hillingdon and the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:
Introduction
1. The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 received Royal
Assent on 30 November 2000 and will be brought fully into force
by 1 January 2005. The Act provides for a general right of
access to information held by public authorities or by those
providing services of a public nature.
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2. The FOI Act will apply to some 100,000 public authorities,
including Central and Local Government, Parliament, the
National Assembly for Wales, the armed forces, the police,
hospitals, GPs and dentists, schools, publicly-funded museums
and many others. Northern Ireland has decided to adopt and
London
operate the Act in line with England and Wales. The Scottish
Parliament has enacted separate Freedom of Information
legislation introduced by the Scottish Executive, which applies
to bodies within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. The
Borough
Scottish Act will also be fully in force on 1 January 2005.
3. The Act establishes a general statutory right of access to
information. Once implemented, in January 2005, a person who
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writes to (or emails) a public authority and asks for information
will have the right to be told whether or not the authority has
Hillingdon
the information and, if so, to have that information
communicated to him, subject to clearly defined exemptions.
Applicants do not have to specify that they are making the
request under the Act. The Act is fully retrospective, i.e. it
applies to all information held by an authority, not merely
information created or acquired by it after 1 January 2005.
4. The Act contains Exemptions, which specify the circumstances
in which information may be withheld. Many of the exemptions
will be subject to a "public interest" test. Where the public
interest test applies, the authority will still be required to
disclose the information, unless it can demonstrate that the
public interest in withholding the information outweighs the
public interest in disclosing it. Other Exemptions are "absolute",
which means that the public interest test does not have to be
applied.
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5. Any decision not to disclose information may be subject to an
appeal to the independent Information Commissioner. Decisions
of the Information Commissioner can be challenged by the
applicant or the public authority to the Information Tribunal,
free of charge, and then to the courts on a point of law. The Act
gives Ministers at Cabinet level the ability to override the
Commissioner's decision that a Department (or other public
authority specified by Order) discloses exempt information in
the public interest.
6. This Document will lay out how the London Borough Of
Hillingdon will respond to the Challenge posed by the Freedom
of Information Act. It contains, a policy and procedure for
handling requests for information, a guide for staff on the
legislation and a guide for members of the public.
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London
Borough
of
Hillingdon
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The London Borough of Hillingdon and the
Freedom of Information Act 2000
A Staff Guide to the Act
How Does the Freedom of Information Act work?
The Freedom of Information Act facilitates access to information held
by public authorities in two ways:
1. By requiring public authorities to adopt and maintain
publication schemes. A Publication scheme is list of the
information routinely made publicly available. This should have
the effect of improving the amount and quality of information
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routinely made available to the public.
2. By creating a right to make a request for information (effective
from 1 January 2005).
Who has a right of access?
London
Anyone, including people living abroad, non-UK citizens, journalists,
political parties, lobby groups and commercial organisations, will have
the right to ask public authorities for any information they hold.
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Do they have to justify why they need access?
No, the purpose for which they will use the information is irrelevant.
How does an individual make a request for information under the
of
Act?
• All requests must be made in writing (which includes
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transmission by electronic means i.e. fax and email).
• Must be made in a legible form.
• A request must state the name of the applicant and provide an
address for communication.
• Describes the Information Requested.
• It is important to note that a requester does not need to mention
the Freedom of Information Act; they may merely request access
to information.
How do we respond to a Request?
• We have a duty to either confirm or deny if the information
exists.
• The applicant may express a preference for communication of
the information by any one more of the following means;
o Provide a copy in a permanent form or anther form
acceptable to the applicant.
o The provision of a reasonable opportunity to inspect the
record containing the information.
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o A digest or summary of the information in a permanent
form or another form acceptable to the applicant.
• We must, as far as is reasonably practical, give effect to the
requester’s stated preference.
Can we charge for the Information?
The Act allows us to make a charge for responding to requests. How
much we can charge is laid down in separate regulations (The
Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and
Fees) Regulations 2004.
We can make a charge for Photocopying, printing, postage and
packaging costs, but we cannot charge for time taken to respond a
request.
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The Act and the Regulations do however, lay down a limit to how
much a request can cost. If a request would cost us over £450
(equivalent to 2 ½ days of officer time), an authority is not obliged to
respond to the request.
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If a charge is to be made for a request, we must inform the individual
of the necessary charge promptly. The individual then has three
months to pay. Until such fee is paid we are under no obligation to
provide the requested information.
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The scale of fees that the London Borough Of Hillingdon charges for
requests is laid out in our Freedom of Information Charging Policy.
How long do we have to respond to a request?
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We have to respond to a request within 20 working days of receiving
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it. This is regardless of the geographical location of the individual
making the request.
If a fee is to be paid we have 20 working days to respond from the day
the fee is received. In addition, where we reasonably require further
information from the individual to fulfil the request, we do not have to
respond until that information is provided. However, where we
require further information we must contact the individual promptly.
Are there circumstances where we can refuse a request for
information?
Yes, there are exemptions under the Act. The exemptions fall into two
categories; absolute and qualified exemptions. Qualified exemptions
are subject to a public interest test, i.e. although an exemption may
exist, if the public interest in disclosing the information is greater
than the public interest in withholding the information then the
exemption will not apply. A list of the exemption is available on the
internal website.
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In addition, we can refuse a request for information if the request is:
• vexatious,
• Where we have recently responded to a similar request from the
same applicant,
• Where further information is not received from the applicant
• Where a fee has been requested but not paid, or
• In circumstances where we estimate that the cost of complying
with a request would exceed the appropriate limit (£450 – 2 ½
days of officer time)
How do we refuse a request?
If we not going to satisfy a request then we must communicate this to
the individual by serving a refusal notice to the applicant. A refusal
notice should contain:
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• A statement to why the request is being refused, what
exemption applies and why.
• Details of our complaints handling policy.
• The Details of an individual’s right to complain to the
Information Commissioner under section 50 of the Act.
London
Who has responsibility within the London Borough of Hillingdon
for Freedom of Information? The Data Protection Officer based in Legal Services has responsibility
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for Freedom of Information within the Council. If you have any
questions regarding the Act then do not hesitate to contact him.
Location: Legal Services, Chief Executives Office, Civic Centre 3E 04
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Email:
[email address]
Ext:
6923
Hillingdon
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The London Borough Of Hillingdon and the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:
Policy for Responding to Requests For Information
1. Advice and Assistance
The London borough of Hillingdon will provide individuals with
information on their right of access to information held by the
Council under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Information will include:
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• An explanation of the Publication Scheme, what information is
on it and how to access it.
• How to make a request for information to the London Borough
Of Hillingdon for information not included on the publication
scheme.
London
• How the London Borough Of Hillingdon will deal with a request
for information.
This Information will be made available to the members of the
Borough
public via the website and leaflets in public libraries. Members of
staff will also provide this information on request.
The London Borough Of Hillingdon will, where necessary, also
assist individuals in making a request for information. The type of
assistance we provide will depend on the circumstances of each
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case, but may include:
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• Advice as to what types of information we hold and how it is
filed.
• Advice as to other organisations who may be able to help them
make a request.
• Provide a general response to the request setting out options for
further information which may be provided on request.
It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list, and that
assistance of this nature is only available in certain circumstances.
2. Charging for Requests
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows public authorities to
charge a fee for access to information. The scale of charges is laid
down in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate
Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
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As the London Borough of Hillingdon has a duty to the Council
taxpayer to ensure that public funds are spent appropriately, we will
charge fees where allowed by legislation to cover the costs of
responding to requests.
The fee regulations do not apply in circumstances where:
• The material is made available under the publication scheme.
• The information is reasonably accessible to the applicant by
other means.
• Or where the fee that may be charged for information is set
down in legislation other than the Freedom of Information Act or
Fees Regulations.
In circumstances where the cost of fulfilling a request exceeds an
‘appropriate limit’ (£450), a public authority is not obliged to comply
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with the request.
Where a fee is required for a request this will be communicated to the
applicant, as soon as is practicable, in a fees notice.
London
An applicant has three months from the date of the fees notice to
provide the requested fee. Unless and until the fee is paid we are not
obliged to comply with the request.
Borough
See the FOI Fees Policy for more information.
3. Handling requests that appear as part of an Organised Campaign
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If the cost of responding to a request exceeds the ‘appropriate limit,’ a
Hillingdon
Public Authority is not obliged to respond to the request.
Where the London Borough Of Hillingdon receives multiple requests
for information that appear to be part of an organised campaign and
where the costs of responding to each request exceed the appropriate
limit, we will consider alternative arrangements for making the
information available to all the applicants.
4. Transferring requests for Information
If the London Borough of Hillingdon receives a request for information
for which we only hold part or none of the information requested by
the applicant and which we reasonably believe may be held by another
public authority we will:
• Contact the applicant and inform them that another public
authority may hold some or all of the information.
• Suggest that the applicant reapplies to that authority in regards
to the information we do not hold.
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• Provide them with the contact details for that authority, which
we believe, may hold the information requested.
In some circumstances we may decide that it would be appropriate to
transfer the request directly to the other public authority, which we
believe may hold the information requested.
When we do this we, will firstly contact that public authority to
ascertain whether they do hold the information requested. We will
then contact the individual to inform them that we are transferring
the request. The individual will be given the opportunity to object to
the transfer before it takes place.
5. Consultation with third parties
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In certain circumstances, the London Borough of Hillingdon will not
be able to fully respond to a request because to do so may affect the
legal rights of a third party.
London
The two main circumstances will be:
• Information provided in confidence.
• Information constituting personal data as defined by the Data
Protection Act 1998.
Borough
Where a duty of confidence exists in relation to any information
covered by a request, the London Borough Of Hillingdon will take
steps to consult the appropriate third party with a view to seeking
their consent for the disclosure.
of
Hillingdon
Where the information constitutes personal data, the London Borough
of Hillingdon will consider the necessary parts of the Data Protection
Act 1998 before determining our response. This process may also
involve, where appropriate, seeking the consent of the individual
involved.
Where the interests of a third party are at stake, but where we do not
have a duty of confidence to the third party, we will consult the third
party when:
• The views of the third party may assist us in determining
whether an exemption under the Act applies.
• The views of the third party may assist us in determining where
the public interest lies.
6. Refusal of requests
Where a request for information is refused the London Borough of
Hillingdon will serve a refusal notice. The refusal notice will
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communicate to the applicant the decision and the reasons behind
that decision. The reasons for which a public authority can refuse a
requested are listed in the Freedom of Information staff guide.
Information regarding the London Borough of Hillingdon’s Freedom of
Information Complaints procedure will be included in any refusal
notice.
A record will be kept of all requests that are refused. This record will
include circumstances where only part of the request was refused.
7. Complaints Procedure
The London Borough of Hillingdon has put in place a complaints
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procedure to deal with cases where an applicant considers that their
request has not been properly handled, or who are otherwise
dissatisfied with the outcome of the consideration of their request.
Details of the complaints procedure will be provided to an applicant at
London
the same time we communicate to them the decision regarding their
request.
The Complaints Procedure will be available on the councils website or
Borough
by contacting the FOI Officer.
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Hillingdon
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Handling Request under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 – Key Processes
1 Initial receipt of requests
• Validate and record
2 Advice and Assistance
•
•
Satisfy ‘easy’ requests
Clarify request
Release
•
•
Direct to advice and
Advise, help submit
Information
•
assistance
Direct elsewhere
•
Distribute to FOI Officer
3 Receipt by FOI officer
• Log request
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• Validate/to advice &
DP Act Process
assistance
Or
• To DP or EIR process
EIR Process
• Decide process and plan
4 Easy/F ast Track
(release able, easily satisfied,
London
limited volume)
•
Collect and send information
• Consid
5 Complex A
er updating system
• Vexatious or repeated
•
Dialogue with applicant
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• Charge
• Issues/timescales
• Plan
Release
Information
of
Hillingdon
6 Complex B
• Collect
• Consult internal
9 Refu sal Process
• External where necessary
•
Refuse with Reasons
• Info rm of complaints
pr
ocess
10 Release Process
• Seni or Review?
Absolute exemption
none • Apply any charges
•
Record
•
7 Complex C
Release information
•
•
Consider Exemptions
Consider for
publication scheme
•
Record
Subject to
Public Interest
Test
None
Yes
8 Complex D
• Consider Public Interest
Release
Information
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1.
Initial receipts of requests
• All requests for Information under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 must be made in writing.
• A request for information can arrive in any part of the
organisation.
• If you receive a request and the information requested is part of
your normal business activity there is no need to take any
further action – just respond to the request as you would
normally. This would apply if the request was made verbally; if
it was part of your normal business activity then supply the
requested information.
• If the request for information is not what you would normally
deal with either contact the Data Protection Officer (who is
responsible for the Freedom of Information Act) or your
department FOI Officer who will advise you on what to do next.
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• If the request is for information about an individual – forward
the request on to the Data Protection Officer.
2.
Advice and Assistance
• We have an obligation to provide advice and assistance to
London
individuals seeking access to information.
• If an individual is trying to make a request then provide
information on how to make a request for information under
FOI
Borough
• Direct the individual to the Councils Website or send them an
Access to Information Pack.
• If Hillingdon is not the correct organisation – either inform the
individual of the correct organisation or pass the request to that
of
organisation directly.
Hillingdon
3.
Receipt by FOI Officer
• Majority of requests will be dealt with directly by front line staff.
However if the request is outside their normal business activity,
they should contact the FOI Officer.
• The FOI Officer may also receive requests directly.
• The FOI Officer will log all requests he receives either directly or
from frontline staff.
• He will consider all requests.
• If the request is for Personal Information, he will deal with it
under the Subject Access Policy and Procedure.
• If necessary at this stage, the FOI officer will ascertain whether
the requested information exists.
4.
Easy to fulfil Requests
• It is likely that the FOI Officer will receive many requests which
are simple to fulfil.
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• In these cases it is just a matter of recording the request and
providing the information. He will forward the request to the
relevant department.
• If a large numbers of easy to fulfil requests are being received by
the FOI Officer, he will consider;
a. Improving training at the front end to make sure these
requests get dealt with straight away.
b. Making the information publicly available by putting it on
the publication scheme.
5.
Complex A – Preliminaries
• The output part of this process is to ascertain a clear
understanding of the request, the likely cost, the likely
timescale and to develop a plan for meeting the request.
• If the request is complex then it is important to establish
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whether it necessary to pursue the request at this stage.
• Is the request vexatious? Has the person made the same
request before? This needs to be resolved at this stage.
• Is the request clear? It may be necessary to contact the
requesting individual to establish exactly what information they
London
are after. It is important to note that the reason they want the
information is irrelevant.
• Consider potential costs. If it is likely that the potential cost will
exceed the fees limit then we do not have to respond. We
Borough
should contact the applicant to discuss alternative
arrangements.
• If the request is difficult to fulfil it may be necessary to notify
the individual of the likely timescale. of
6. Complex
B
Hillingdon
• The requested information should now be collected from
wherever it is held. This may involve either physically copying
documents or just transferring them electronically.
• It may be necessary to consult in order to ascertain whether the
information should be disclosed. This should be done to short,
tight timescales.
o Internally – consult officers who best understand the
issues. (For example procurement officers in relation to
contract information etc) The purpose is to understand if
any of the exemptions may apply.
o External – where third parties provided the information
they should be asked whether they believe they would
likely to be prejudiced by release in any way, and if so
why exactly and how? It is important to establish
whether any implicit duty of confidence applies to any of
the information. If so, the third party should be asked
whether they agree to its release.
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7. Complex
C
• The information has now being collected and all relevant parties
have been consulted.
• Consider any relevant exemptions and whether the information
should be provided.
• If the exemption is absolute, consider whether the information
can be redacted.
• If the exemption is qualified, then consider the public interest
test.
8. Complex
D
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• Go through the public interest test.
• Record decision
• Consider whether information can be redacted to remove
exempt information.
• Either disclose or refuse
London
9. Refusal
process
• If the request for information is to be refused, then this should
be communicated formally to the individual along with the
Borough
reasons for refusal.
• The individual should also be given the chance to appeal, so
information on the complaints process should be provided.
• Details should be kept of all refusals of
Hillingdon
10. Release
process
• Collect fees, unless they have already been provided
• Release the requested information
• Record the request.
• Consider whether requested information should be included on
the publication scheme.
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The London Borough Of Hillingdon and the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:
Freedom of Information Complaints Procedure
If you are dissatisfied with a response to a request for information
made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you can make a
complaint. This document sets out how you should make your
complain and how we will deal with it.
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Introduction
You can make a complaint in circumstances where information has
been withheld because of an exemption or, you are not satisfied with
the response you have received or when the time taken for us to
London
respond is over 20 working days.
The London Borough of Hillingdon’s FOI complaints procedure is
designed to achieve three aims. Firstly, to inform you about the Act
Borough
and your rights. Secondly, to review any decisions made regarding
the application of exemptions and finally to rectify any errors made in
the FOI procedure.
There are four stages to the complaints process
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1. Informal Discussion
Hillingdon
2. Write to the FOI Officer
3. Write to the Deputy Borough Solicitor
4. Information Commissioners Office
Informal Contact
Before instigating a formal complaint in writing, you first contact the
officer who dealt with your request or the Council’s FOI Officer to
voice your concerns. It may be that through a process of informal
discussion, they can satisfy your concerns regarding the response by
providing with you information regarding your application and your
rights.
Freedom of Information Officer
If you are unable to resolve the complaint informally, then you should
write to the Freedom of Information Officer who will address your
concerns formally within 15 working days.
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Deputy Borough Solicitor
If you unhappy with the Freedom of Information Officer’s response,
then you should write to the Deputy Borough Solicitor. In your letter
you should explain your concerns and give an explanation as to why
you believe that the Freedom of Information Officer’s response was
unsatisfactory. The Deputy Borough Solicitor will then conduct an
independent review of your application for information and your
subsequent complaint. You will receive a response within 15 working
days.
Information Commissioners Office
If you are still dissatisfied, you can seek an independent, external
review from the Information Commissioner although the internal
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review must normally be completed before such an appeal can be
made. Requests for a review by the Information Commissioner should
be made in writing directly to:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
London
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
Borough
Fax: 01625 545 510
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Hillingdon
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