Library statistics 2021
Dear Warwickshire County Council,
FAO The Library Service.
Hello, I have two freedom of information (FOI) queries that should be quick. This is being sent to all UK library services so be assured you aren't being singled out! If the operating of the library service has been outsourced to a separate organisation then please fulfil this request by retrieving the response from that body.
1. Does the library service complete annual library statistics to be sent to CIPFA? And specifically, have these been completed for the financial year 2020/2021?
2. If the answer to the above is Yes, please include a copy of your 2020/2021 CIPFA library statistics return in your response. This should be sent in the same format as was sent to CIPFA (e.g. an Excel spreadsheet).
It is important that this should be an exact copy of the data sent to CIPFA. I am not requesting any data that is owned by CIPFA, such as their own aggregated reports. As the data is compiled by the library service it is public library data, and subject to Freedom of Information.
To try and cover any concerns about the second part of this request, I have answered a number of potential worries below. Please have a quick look through these before responding!
- Data Format. The data should be sent as structured data in spreadsheet format. Guidelines from the Information Commissioner's Office specify that it is reasonable to request data in a re-usable and "Machine-readable" formats. For example, if the data were exported to a PDF file then that would not be acceptable, as that is a document rather than structured data.
- FOI exemption: accessible by other means. Occasionally, requesters in the past have been told that this data could be exempt from FOI as it accessible from CIPFA when it is published. However this fails the test of being 'reasonably' accessible due to the high cost for a member of the public. This exemption would certainly be overturned on appeal.
- FOI exemption: commercial interest. Commercial interest exemptions do exist in FOI legislation but this would not apply to a single third party (e.g. CIPFA) who use public data. Their commercial interests are in the value they provide in reporting on that data.
Thank you in advance!
Yours faithfully,
Dave Rowe
Information request
Our reference: 7190596
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Dear Mr Rowe
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 16
September 2021. We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000
Under our normal statutory requirements we are required to provide you
with a response within 20 working days of the receipt of your request.
Therefore we would aim to send a response by 14 October 2021. However,
please see ** below.
In some case, a fee may be payable. If we decide a fee is payable, we will
send you a fee notice and we will require you to pay the fee before
proceeding with your request.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information then we
might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if this is
the case and advise you of your right to request an internal review and to
complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
** Please note:
In line with many organisations, nationally and globally, Warwickshire
County Council is experiencing unprecedented challenges during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst we will endeavour to adhere to our Information
Rights timescales during this period, there may be times when we need
to redirect our resources to assist the council and partner agencies to
respond to the outbreak. Therefore, you may experience delays in
receiving a response from us in relation to information rights requests
during this time.
Further guidance can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office
website
at [1]https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/you...
appreciate your cooperation and understanding during this time.
Kind regards
Sarah Winnett
Business Support Team Leader
Communities and Resources Hub - Team 1, Business & Customer Services
Shire Hall
Warwick
CV34 4RL
Tel: 01926 412888
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
References
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Information request
Our reference: 7190596
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Dear Mr Rowe
Thank you for your request for information received on 16 September 2021.
Please find attached our response to your request.
Kind regards
Sarah Winnett
Business Support Team Leader
Communities and Resources Hub - Team 1, Business & Customer Services
Shire Hall
Warwick
CV34 4RL
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
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