Access to Information

Ards Borough Council believes that comprehensive information about how we make our decisions, about our plans, policies, activities and services should be accessible to members of the public. We aim to be open, transparent and proactive in our information provision, embracing the ethos of both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 - legislation which gives people a general right of access to as much official information as possible, bearing in mind the need to keep certain information confidential.

We publish a great deal of information about what we do here on our website, in line with our Publication Scheme which lists the types or 'classes' of information which we routinely publish. Our Publication Scheme, effective from 1 January 2009, follows the model scheme for all public authorities which was drawn up by the Information Commissioner who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Where information listed in the Publication Scheme is not available on our site, this may be because it cannot be loaded onto the web, and in this case you can contact our Equality/Compliance Officer and ask for the information to be provided to you.

How do I make a request for information which is not included in the Publication Scheme?

If you would like information which is not on our website or listed in our Publication Scheme, you may ask us for it in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2005.

Anyone can make a request for information. Under the Freedom of Information Act (the Act) a request must be made in writing (this includes e-mail) and must state clearly what information is required. In the case of written correspondence a name and address must be provided. The Council is obliged to accept verbal requests which fall under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). However, in order that requests can be dealt with as efficiently as possible we would encourage you to contact the Council Offices.

To make a written request, please send it to:

Equality/Compliance Officer
Ards Borough Council
2 Church Street
Newtownards
BT23 4AP
Northern Ireland

Tel: 028 9182 4000
Fax: 028 9181 9628
ards@ards-council.gov.uk

You can also make a request using our Freedom of Information Request on-line form .

What happens when I make a request?

When we receive your request for information, we will first of all ensure that the information is not already routinely published by the Council, in which case we will simply forward you the information.

If the information you request is not routinely made available, then we will ascertian if we hold that information and if we do, we will forward it to you within 20 working days of receiving your request, providing no exemptions or exceptions apply.

If we feel that we need additional information from you to be able to deal with your request, we will contact you for further details. However in doing so the response time may lengthen.

We believe that, where possible, information should be available to you at no cost. If a charge is applicable, we will contact you to ensure that you are willing to pay the fee. You will not be charged for making a request.

Exemptions/Exceptions

The Freedom of Information Act sets out a series of exemptions (23 in total), some of which are 'absolute' and some of which are 'qualified'. There are 12 exceptions from disclosure in the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), all of which are qualified.

Some records may not be made available if they are covered by an exemption or exception. This could be to protect confidential information or for legal reasons, for example, if by releasing the information we would breach another piece of legislation such as the Data Protection Act.

If the information requested is covered by an Absolute Exemption, the Council does not have to consider disclosing it in the public interest, nor does it have to state if the information in question is held.

If the Council believes that the information is covered by a Qualified Exemption or Exception, it must apply the public interest test. This test favours disclosure where a qualified exemption or an exception applies. In such cases, the information may be withheld only if the Council considers that the public interest in withholding the information is greater than the public interest in disclosing it.

Examples of exemptions under the Act include:

(a) Absolute

Information accessible by other means

Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters

Court records including records of tribunals and inquiries

Personal data or information

Information provided in confidence

(b) Qualified

Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities

Information likely to prejudice law enforcement

Information likely to endanger the health and safety of any individual

Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained

Commercial interests and trade secrets

Where the Council uses an exemption or exception to withhold information, you may seek a review of the decision.

Charging for Information

We aim to provide most information to the public at no cost and will only charge in cases where:

a fee must be imposed as a result of a statutory requirement.

or

the informtion amounts to more than 100 pages which will be calculated at a cost of 10p per sheet. The Council will not charge for photocopying which amounts to less than £10. Anyone requesting information for which a charge is payable may not seek the information in smaller batches, e.g. 90 pages at a time, in order to avoid the cost).

However, sometimes, we may have to make a charge and in this case we will contact you for your prior approval.

Charges will be as follows:

Priced Publications - where the information you require is available from the Council in a priced publication, we will supply details of the publication, its cost and where to obtain it.

Photocopying costs and postage (plus a small administrative charge) - where the information you require has already been prepared by us and we can photocopy or provide a computer printout, there will be photocopying and postage costs as well as a small administrative charge. This kind of information includes copies of entries in public registers and copies of the Council's internal guidance documents.

You do not pay VAT on requests made under the Freedom of Information Act and the Council has the discretion to waive charges if appropriate.

No charges will be made where a request for information is refused or where there is an appeal against a refusal. Nor will there be a charge to appeal against any charges made for requested information.

Ards Borough Council owns the copyright to the information it produces. If information is to be re-used or reproduced, commercially or otherwise, written approval must be obtained from the office of the Chief Executive.

Making a Complaint

If you are not happy with the way your request for information has been handled, the fee which has been charged, or if you believe that we have incorrectly applied an exemption or exception and wrongly withheld information, then you have the right to complain.

You should in the first instance use our internal complaints procedure. An internal review can be sought through the office of the Chief Executive of the Council and a member of staff who was not involved with the original request will undertake the review. If you complain, we aim to respond to your complaint within 10 working days and if we feel that we cannot resolve your complaint within that time, we will contact you and explain the delay. Our target time for a response will then be 1 month.

The Chief's Executive's Office can be contacted at:

Ards Borough Council
2 Church Street
Newtownards
BT23 4AP

Tel: 028 9182 4000
Fax: 028 9181 9628

sarah.knott@ards-council.gov.uk

If you are still dissatisfied after the Council has undertaken its internal review, you can ask the Information Commissioner to review the Council's decision, by contacting:

Office of the Information Commissioner
Room 101
Regus House
33 Clarendon Dock
Laganside
Belfast
BT1 3BG

Please note that the Information Commissioner will expect that the Council's internal complaints procedure has been completed before any appeal is made to his office.

Additional guidance on the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations is available on the Information Commissioner's website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, every public authority must publish and maintain a Publication Scheme which sets out the information they routinely make available to members of the public.

Our Publication Scheme, effective from 1 January 2009, follows the model scheme for all public authorities which was drawn up by the Information Commissioner who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

It details the types or 'classes' of information which are available from the Council and you should be able to find all of this information on our web site, which is being updated regularly.

If the information you require does not appear to be included in the Publication Scheme, then you may wish to request the information using your right under the Freedom of Information legislation.

The classes of information in our scheme are:

Who we are and what we do
Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts

What we spend and how we spend it
Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.

What our priorities are and how we are doing
Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.

How we make decisions
Decision making processes and records of decisions.

Our policies and procedures
Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities.

Lists and registers
Information in currently maintained public lists and registers.

The services we offer
Information about the service we offer including leaflets, guidance and newsletters

Publication Scheme