FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
PUBLICATION SCHEME OF LLANELLI TOWN COUNCIL
Lynn Davies
Town Clerk March 2003
LLANELLI TOWN COUNCIL
1. Background
1.1 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”) was passed on 30th November 2000. It applies to all “public authorities” in England and Wales – including town and community councils – and aims to develop a culture of openness amongst public authorities.
1.2 Individuals already have the right to access information about themselves which is held on computer (and in some paper files) under the Data Protection Act 1998. The effect of the Act is to extend this right to allow access to various other classes of information which public authorities hold, whether personal or non-personal.
1.3 A publication scheme must specify the following:
· classes of information which the Council publishes or intends to publish;
· the manner in which information of each class is, or is intended to be published, and
· whether the material is, or is intended to be, available to the public free of charge or on receipt of a payment.
1.4 The Act entitles anyone to make a written request for information to a public authority. The authority must then
· confirm in writing whether it holds that information (“the duty to confirm or deny”) and, if so
· communicate that information to that person.
1.5 The Act does, however, prescribe that 23 categories of information are exempt. These cover issues like national security, law enforcement and commercial interests. In those cases authorities will not be required to release the information if it falls within the absolute exemption category or (in other cases) they are satisfied that release is not in the public interest. They can also decline to publish information if it considers that
· the cost of compiling the information would be excessive
· the request for information is a repeated or vexatious one.
1.6 The Act will be overseen and enforced by the Information Commissioner (formerly the Data Protection Commissioner), who will give guidance on implementation and good practice, and will have wide enforcement powers. The Commissioner’s contact details are as follows:
| Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. |
Tel: 01625 545827 Fax: 01625 524510 E-mail: information Website: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk |
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2. The Council’s Scheme
2.1 The Council fully embraces the culture of openness and transparency in all its dealings which the Act seeks to develop among public authorities.
2.2 In order to meet its obligations under the Act, the Council has adopted a model publication scheme for town and community councils. The model scheme has been approved by the Information Commissioner for a period from 28th February, 2003 to 28th February, 2007. During this period the Council is obliged, under section 19 (1)(b) of the Act, to publish information in accordance with that scheme. At the end of this period the Council will be required to adopt a revised model publication scheme or to submit its own bespoke scheme for approval.
2.3 The scheme may be inspected at the Council offices, The Old Vicarage, Town Hall Square, Llanelli, Carms. SA15 3DD, and at Llanelli Public Library. It is also intended to publish the scheme on the Council’s website (www.llanellitowncouncil.gov.uk).
2.4 In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Council’s scheme specifies the classes of information it publishes or intends to publish. In some cases a class of information sets out certain information which is excluded from publication. Where that is the case the reason for the exclusion is clearly stated. Excluded throughout the scheme is general correspondence sent or received by the Council and all information relating the private individuals by virtue of it being personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998.
2.5 In certain classes a limitation on the age of some documents has been stipulated. For the avoidance of doubt this does not necessarily mean that information beyond that date will not be supplied, it simply indicates that it is not available as a matter of course within the publication scheme.
2.6 The information contained in each class is available in hard copy on request from the Town Clerk or may be inspected at the Council offices.
2.7 Charging Policy
2.7.1 If information is required in hard copy, a charge will be levied to cover costs. Details of the charges for information made available through the scheme are set out below. If a request does attract a charge the enquirer will be asked whether he/she wishes to continue with the request before the work is undertaken. The charges are subject to regular review. The charging criteria are as follows:
Information Provided Free of Charge
No charge is payable either for inspecting information included within this publication scheme or for servicing telephone enquiries in connection with the same.
Photocopying Costs, Postage and Administration
A charge will be made for the provision of copies of documents/information listed in each of the classes of the publication scheme. The charges will be made up of the following (as appropriate):
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Photocopying - 10p per side of a page
Administration - £3.50
Postage - actual cost
However, where the photocopying charge is less than £1.00, the administration charge will be waived.
Charge for the Time Taken to Gather and Prepare Information for Release
If the information requested under the scheme takes a considerable amount of time to gather or prepare, a charge will be made for the amount of staff time involved in preparing it for release. The charge will be based on the hourly rate of the member of staff concerned.
Responding to Requests for Information
The Council aims to deal with requests as quickly as possible, and within the limit of 20 working days prescribed by section 10(1) of the Act.
2.8 Responsibility for the Scheme
The Town Clerk has overall responsibility for the scheme. He may be contacted as follows:
The Old Vicarage,
Town Hall Square,
Llanelli,
SA15 3DD.
Tel: 01554 774352
Fax: 01554 770376
E-mail: lynnd@llanellitowncouncil.gov.uk
2.9 The Classes of Information
2.9.1 Detailed below are the classes of information contained within the Council’s publication scheme. As the scheme develops more information will be added over time.
2.9.2 Core Classes of Information
[NOTE: Information items that are underlined and with a W shown opposite them are also available in Welsh.]
CLASS 1: COUNCIL INTERNAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Minutes of council, committee and sub-committee meetings- limited to the last 2 years.
Procedural Standing Orders
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Optional documents included:-
W Agendas and supporting papers for council, committee and sub-committee meetings - limited in each case to the forthcoming/immediate meeting.
Terms of Reference for Committees.
CLASS 2: CODE OF CONDUCT
Members’ Declarations of Acceptance of Office
Members’ Register of Interests
Register of Members’ Interests
CLASS 3: PERIODIC ELECTORAL REVIEW
This is information concerning changes to the electoral arrangement for parish, town and community councils. It includes recommendations for the creation of new wards, the amendment of existing wards, proposals for the names of new wards and alterations to the number of councillors to be elected to the council.
Information relating to the last Periodic Electoral Review of the council area.
Information relating to the latest boundary review of the council area.
CLASS 4: EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Terms & conditions of employment
Job descriptions
Optional documents included:-
Equal Opportunities Policy
Health & Safety Policy
Staffing Structure
Exclusions: - ‘Personal records’ i.e. appraisals, employee specific salary details, disciplinary records, sickness records and the like by virtue of being personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998.
CLASS 5: PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Responses to planning applications
Exclusions:- Copies of planning consultations, the Unitary Development Plan, Structure Plan, Local Plan and Rights of Way/Footpath maps all of which are available form the local planning and/or highway authority respectively.
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CLASS 6: AUDIT AND ACCOUNTS
Annual return form - limited to the last financial year.
Annual Statutory Report by the auditor (internal and external) - limited to the last financial year
Receipt/Payment books, Receipt books of all kinds, Bank Statements from all accounts - limited to the last financial year
Precept request - limited to the last financial year
VAT records - limited to the last financial year
Financial Standing Orders and Regulations
Assets register - this will (where appropriate)include details of commons/village greens owned by the council including management schemes for commons as well as village halls, community centres and recreation grounds.
Optional documents included:-
Loan sanction approvals
Fees and charges applied by the council
Safety inspection records, for example for playgrounds
Register/file of members’ allowances
Exclusions:- all commercially sensitive information e.g. quotations and tenders, loan documentation and insurance policies. With regard to quotations and tenders, this information is treated as confidential to ensure that the whole tender process is fair, i.e. if tender information is released to a third party prior to the end of the tender period those who initially submitted tenders could be undercut and/or unfairly disadvantaged.
2.9.3 OPTIONAL CLASSES OF INFORMATION
CLASS 7: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICY
Policy Statements issued by the council *
Responses made by the council to consultation papers *
Analysis of responses received to public consultations by the council *
* limited to the last twelve months.
CLASS 8: BYELAWS
Not applicable.
CLASS 9: COUNCIL CIRCULARS/NEWSLETTERS
W Town, parish community guide
W History of town, parish or community (or similar commissioned publication)
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CLASS 10: ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT & TOURIST INFORMATION
Not applicable.
CLASS 11: ALLOTMENTS
Plans
Standard tenancy Agreements
Exclusions:- individual tenancy agreements and rent payment records under both privacy and data protection laws.
CLASS 12: BURIAL GROUNDS
Not applicable.
CLASS 13: BEST VALUE
Not applicable.
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