What is Freedom of Information?

The act was introduced to help bring about a culture of openness within the public sector and give the public a better understanding of how authorities carry out their duties; why they make the decisions they do; and how they spend public money.

Every public authority has two main duties under the FOI act:

to adopt and maintain a publication scheme, overseen by an independent Information Commissioner, which sets out:

• details of information it will routinely make available;
• how the information can be obtained;
• whether there is any charge for it.

to comply with all requests for the information, unless there is an exemption from disclosure. The authority normally has a maximum of 20 working days to respond to the request; however, there are circumstances when this time limit can be extended.

How do I make an FOI request?

If there is something you would like to know about the Council’s activities, take the following steps:

Search the website – what you’re looking for might already be here, including minutes to recent meetings. Check the Disclosure Log in case your questions have already been answered.

If you can’t find the information you are seeking, you can submit your request via email at: clerk@barnoldswicktowncouncil.gov.uk or via post: Clerk, Barnoldswick Town Council, Civic Hall, Station Road, Barnoldswick BB18 5NA.

All requests must include the requester’s name and provide a valid email or postal address for us to reply to.

When you submit your request, give as much detail as possible to help us correctly identify the information you are seeking. If we do need more detail from you to identify the information, we will contact you.

Before you submit your request, we recommend that you read visit the Information Commissioners Office website.

How long does it take?

We will have 20 working days to respond. We will advise you if we are likely to need to extend the time.

Exceptions and exemptions

There are legal reasons why information may not be released to you. These are known as exceptions/exemptions. If we do not release information to you because an exception/exemption applies we will explain why.

Requests under FOI may be refused because:

• it is a matter covered by data protection legislation
• it is available under our publication scheme
• it might be considered prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs.

Disclosure Log

1.0 Introduction

When information is released under the Freedom of Information Act, it is disclosed ‘to the world’. As recommended by the Information Commissioner’s Office, Barnoldwick Town Council operates an online Disclosure Log. This publishes requests and responses made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 and Environment Information Regulations (EIR) 2004.

As part of our commitment to being an open and transparent council, and in order to provide greater access to our information, we aim to publish all requests and responses. However, on some occasions, they may not be published, for example, if it contains personal data. Disclosure Logs are also recommended as good practice as part of the Publication Scheme, which is a requirement under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

All responses published on the Disclosure Log will be dealt with in accordance with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. For example, personal details, such as names and addresses (both postal and email), will be redacted to protect a requester’s privacy.

2.0 Purpose

Barnoldswick Town Council recognises that there are risks associated with the publication of FOI requests and responses. This policy aims to mitigate these risks by ensuring that the Council has an effective and coordinated approach to publishing requests and responses on the Disclosure Log.

3.0 Timescales

The Council aims to publish requests and responses as soon as practicably possible after the response has been sent to the requester.

4.0 Publication criteria

Although the Council aims to publish all requests and responses, there may be occasions where it is not appropriate to publish particular ones. The Town Clerk will assess each of these against the following criteria to determine whether or not they should be published in the Disclosure Log:

• Personal Information – Requests which are exempt under Section 40 (personal information) and the request itself relates to the requester, or if the request and/or response may enable identification of the individual, and where extensive redaction of personal data renders the response unintelligible
• Vexatious – Requests which use inappropriate/offensive language
• Substantial Private Interest – where there is a substantial private rather than public interest. If a response is changed as a result of an internal review, the Disclosure Log will be updated accordingly.

5.0 Redaction

Personal details, including the requester’s name and address will be removed to protect privacy.

If the body of the request or response contains references to named individuals, it must be considered whether these details also need to be redacted before being published on the Disclosure Log.

Please note that in some cases information shared with the requester may have been redacted to remove information exempted from legislation (for example, personal or commercially sensitive information).

6.0 Retention

Requests and responses published on the Disclosure Log will be retained for three years, in accordance with Barnoldswick Town Council’s Retention Guidelines set out in the Information Asset Register.

7.0 Roles and responsibilities

Responding Officers

• To ensure that responses meet the requirements of the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and are ready to be disclosed to the wider public
• To ensure that the correct approval process has been followed before the response is sent
• To ensure that a Disclosure Log of completed requests and responses is maintained and available for public view on the BTC website
• To publish the request and response to the Disclosure Log as soon as practicable after the response has been sent
• To act as a contact point in relation to the Disclosure Log
• To review requests against the criteria listed in this document before publication
• To ensure automatic redaction of the requester’s details has been completed. To remove requests and responses from the Disclosure Log as required
• To conduct regular checks to ensure that any information available in the Disclosure Log complies with the requirements of the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018

8.0 References

The following Barnoldswick Town Council’s policy documents are relevant to this policy:

Data Protection Policy

Information Asset Retention Policy

9.0 Review and revision

This policy will be reviewed as it is deemed appropriate, but no less frequently than every 2 years.

Policy review and amendments will be undertaken by the Town Clerk in consultation with Councillors.