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Freedom of Information Act 2000
The council is currently revising sections within its Publication Scheme and
the associated guidance. Although some of the information you might
expect to find may appear to be omitted from the Scheme, the
council has adopted the Information Commissioner’s model
Publication scheme.
The Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act) promotes openness and
accountability in public sector bodies. It allows everyone the
right to see information held by public authorities, so that there
is a better understanding of:
- how public authorities carry out their duties;
- why decisions are made and
- how public money is spent.
Under the Act, individuals have the right to make a request for
any information held by a public authority, subject to
exemptions.
The Act requires that information readily available from public
authorities is published, easily accessible and identified in a
Publication Scheme. The council has prepared guidance to
assist individuals using the Scheme.
If the information being sought is not available through the
Publication Scheme, a request must be made in writing, which
includes:
Information requests have to be fulfilled within 20 working days
of the council receiving the request, unless:
- a payment is required, which will start the 20-working day
limit on the date of payment or
- the council is considering the Public Interest Test, as an exemption applies.
Although the officer formally responsible for the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 for Medway Council is the Assistant
Director, Legal and Corporate Services, all enquiries should
be addressed to Customer First initially.
For further information about the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and other related legislation, please visit the website
of the
Information Commissioner
(www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/freedom_of_information.aspx) or
Directgov's Freedom of Information page.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000, the
Data Protection Act 1998 and the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 all
govern access to information held by English, Welsh and Northern
Irish public bodies. The Act does not apply to Scottish public
authorities, which come under the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002 , overseen by a separate
organisation, the Office of the Scottish
Information Commissioner.
The following pages offer
help and advice on making requests for information:
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