4. The publication scheme
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires all public authorities to adopt and maintain a publication scheme which has been approved by the Information Commissioner and to publish information in accordance with the scheme. We have adopted the Information Commissioner's model publication scheme. Our scheme commits us to:
- proactively publish information that falls within the classes which is held by us;
- review and update on a regular basis the information covered by the scheme;
- produce a schedule of an any fee charged for access to information (our fees and charges); and
- produce a guide to the information contained within each class (our website).
Some information is not covered by the scheme and this includes:
- information which is exempt under the FOIA or Environmental Information Regulations, or if a law does not allow us to disclose;
- information in draft form; and
- information that is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that been placed in archive storage, or is difficult to access for similar reasons.
Some information will be subject to copyright so reproduction is restricted. The copyright may either be held by us or other organisations, for example, most maps are copyrighted by the Ordnance Survey.
Classes of information covered by our publication scheme are as follows:
- Who we are and what we do – organisational information, locations and contacts, details of the services we offer and governance arrangements.
- What we spend – financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement and contracts
- What our priorities are and how we are doing – strategy and performance information, plans, inspections and performance reports.
- How we make decisions – policy proposals, consultations and council decisions made.
- Lists and registers – information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority.