Accessing information we keep

Anyone that makes a written request for information (subject to exemptions and potential fees) must be informed whether we hold the information they've requested, and be supplied with that information. Make a request to view information we hold.

We will respond to all requests within 20 working days. We must consider public interest and whether any of the requested information is exempt from disclosure. There may be fees for providing the information and where this is the case the information will not be released until payment is received.

Information which is already available is listed in our Publication Scheme (PDF, 197KB). This lists all information that is currently published, the format in which it is available and any charges for the information.

If we do not respond to your request within 20 working days or if you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can ask for for an internal review of the decision by responding to the reply you recieve. This can also take up to 20 working days. If you are still unhappy following the results of this review then you can appeal to the Information Commissioner.

We can charge a fee that we consider reasonable for making information available, except in the case of access to public registers or lists of environmental information.

We can charge for the following:

• Determining whether we hold the information requested
• Locating the information, or a document containing the information
• Retrieving the information
• Extracting the information from documents containing it
• Other costs of making available the information eg supervision of scanning and photographing of documents, postage and photocopying costs
• Postage and other means of transmission (eg CD-Roms) will be charged at cost and photocopying at 10p per A4 sheet

Information about past requests

We publish details about requests for information submitted under information access legislation.

We publish compliance information regarding the number of requests responded to within 20 working days. (relates to formal requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004)

Regular Request Data

The Council gets regularly asked for details relating to business rates accounts data. As a result we have published the following datasets. These will be reviewed regularly.

Fees and Charges

In certain circumstances, the Council may inssue a fees notice in response to a request for information submitted under the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations or Data Protection Act.

Any such fees notice will be raised in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 SI No. 3244