This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Social Work Management Structure'.

Important Notice regarding Charges for Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Requests.

West Dunbartonshire Council have revised its current Freedom of Information charging regime and charges for requests submitted under s.1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 as well as those made under Regulation 5 of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.


Basis of Charging

For Freedom of Information Requests, a charge will only be due where the cost of compliance with the request is greater that £100. In such circumstances the charge to be applied will represent 10% of the Council’s costs in providing the information over the £100. In calculating the Council’s costs, the maximum rate it can charge for a member of staff is (i) the actual cost of the member of staff’s time, or (ii) £15 per hour, whichever is the lesser.

Please also note that in the event of the cost of compliance to the Council costing more than £600, then the Council remains entitled to refuse the request.

The Council will adhere to both the Act and Regulations in determining what costs are capable of being considered as costs of compliance.

The following worked examples found in the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner’s (OSIC) Guidance may help to illustrate the charging process

Example 1 *
The authority estimates that locating and retrieving information will take two members of staff four hours to complete. Actual cost of staff time: 4 hours at £8.50 per hour
4 hours at £14.00 per hour
£
34.00
£56.00
Photocopying: 50 x A4 sheets at 10p per sheet £
5.00
Subtotal £
95.00
Less first £100
(£5.00)
Total chargeable amount x 10% £
0

Example 2 *
The authority estimates that locating and retrieving all the information will take the same two members of staff two full days to complete. Actual cost of staff time:
15 hours at £8.50 per hour
15 hours at £14.00 per hour
£
127.50
£210.00
Cost of converting information
into tape for an applicant with
sight impairment
£50.00 £
0
Subtotal £
337.50
Less first £100 £
237.50
Chargeable amount = 10% £
23.75

*Please note these rates are provided in the OSIC guidance, are indicative only and should not be taken as an indication of the rates which the authority will use.

For requests under the Environmental Information Regulations, there is no defined lower or upper limit for charging, and there is no maximum rate per hour. The Regulations state that the authority can charge a reasonable amount for accessing environmental information and specifically state that the fee charged must not exceed the costs to the authority of making that information available.

Whilst there is no specified upper limit to the amount a request may cost before it is refused, the regulations do permit refusal where the request is manifestly unreasonable
.


Procedure
The Act and Regulations provide for a Fees Notice to be issued stating and requesting the costs to be paid. This notice must be issued within 20 days of receipt of the request (ie the usual maximum timescale for compliance with disclosure) and it is only upon payment that the information need be disclosed. Such payment must be made within 3 months of the issue of the notice. This means, in effect, that if payment is not made in advance of 3 months of the Fees Notice, the request will effectively be terminated.

If an applicant feels the sums stated in the fee notice are too high, this can be reviewed.


Further information on Fees and Charges under the Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regimes can be found on the OSIC website:- http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Law/FOISA-EIRsGuidance/Fees/FeesOverview.aspx