FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUESTS

Members of the public have the right to request recorded information from public authorities. If you ask for information, public authorities must provide it, unless there’s a good reason not to.

Under normal circumstances, a public authority has 20 working days to respond. If we are not clear on what information you are requesting, we will contact you for clarification.

The legislation does not require an authority to make up an answer or find out information from elsewhere and only applies to recorded information held even if it is inaccurate.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website contains information regarding how to make a Freedom of Information request. Please also refer to our policies.

Please note that responding to requests requires staff time and public resources. We therefore encourage you to check the information that is already available and any requests are focused and meaningful, and not repetitive unless the information has significantly changed.