Freedom of Information Act 2000
One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is that
public authorities should be clear and proactive about the
information they make available to the public. The Act is intended
to encourage organisations to make more information available to
the public and to develop a greater culture of transparency and
openness.
Information already requested
Please see downloadable
documents below for a list of requests received for each
calendar year since the Act came into force.
Requests for information
The Freedom of Information Act came into full force on 1
January 2005 when applicants were able to exercise their full
right to request access
to any information Carlisle City Council
holds. Held means information recorded in any
format.
If you have searched the Publication Scheme and can not find
what you are looking for, you can make a written request for the
information.
If you require information about yourself held by Carlisle City
Council, this is dealt with under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Re-use of information
On 1 July 2005 the Re-use of Public Sector Information
Regulations 2005 came into force. This provides a framework
for decisions by the council on requests from people to apply to
re-use information held by the council.
"Re-use" means using the information for a purpose other than
the purpose for which the document was originally produced. This
could include a commercial purpose. See the related links section
below to find out how the council deals with requests to re-use
information.
Access rights
Anyone is able to make a request for information, although the
request must be in a permanent form. The council has
developed a downloadable information request form (see downloads section) to assist you
with your request. You may also use our online version of this
form, (see related links).
The Act gives applicants two related rights:
- The right to be told whether the information exists
- The right to receive the information (and where possible, in
the manner requested, ie as a copy or summary, or the applicant may
ask to inspect a record)
Carlisle City Council will have to respond to requests within 20
working days and we may charge a fee calculated according to Fees
Regulations. If a fee is required it must be paid in advance and if
the fee is not paid within three months then the request for
information will lapse.
Any person who makes a request to the council for information
must be informed whether the council holds that information and,
subject to a number of exemptions, should be supplied with that
information. In cases where information is covered by an exemption,
the council is required to consider if the public interest in
maintaining the exemption in question outweighs the public interest
in disclosure. The information available will be fully
retrospective.
Publication Scheme
Central to the Act, Section 19(2) sets out the requirements for
a publication scheme. A publication scheme must specify
- the classes of information the City Council publishes or
intends to publish;
- the manner in which they will be published;
- whether the information is available free of charge or on
payment of a fee.
Section 19(3) states that "in adopting or reviewing a
publication scheme, a public authority shall have regard to the
public interest in allowing public access to information held by
the authority and in the publication of reasons for decisions made
by the public authority".
Carlisle City Council has developed a publication scheme, which
has been approved by the Information Commissioner. These web pages
will be reviewed from time to time, and any updated versions will
be available here. They follow the guidance outlined by the
Information Commissioner in the national model publication scheme
(see related links).
Refused access to council information?
Carlisle City Council aims to provide its customers with the
information they request. However, sometimes the information will
be withheld if it is deemed to be exempt under the FOI Act to
protect confidential or other information where disclosure may not
be in the public interest.
How do I appeal about the council's refusal to disclose?
We will try to resolve your complaint about the council's
decision to withhold information informally, especially appeals
that information which should have been provided and was not
provided. However, if you are still dissatisfied you have the right
to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried
out by an officer with no previous involvement with your
request.
If, after the internal review, you are still not satisfied, you
may wish to request an independent review from the Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO). Requests for a review by the ICO
should be made in writing directly to:
The Information
Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
(It should be noted the ICO would, under normal circumstances,
only review a decision if the council's internal review procedures
have been exhausted)
Your comments and feedback
We welcome comments and suggestions on how we can improve the
scheme, as it is important that the scheme meets your needs.
Your comments on the following questions would help us to
develop the scheme and make us more open in how we work.
- Did you use the Publication Scheme to try and find some
specific information or were you browsing?
- If you were looking for some specific information/document, did
the scheme help you find it?
- If you were just browsing, was there anything of any
interest?
- Were the introduction and the aims clear and easy to
understand?
- Do you have any comments about the structure and navigation of
the categories of information?
- Would any further indexing/cross referencing be helpful?
- Are there any other areas of our work that you would like us to
include in the scheme?
- Do you have any comments about the publication scheme?
Please send your feedback to the email or address below.
For more information please contact:
The Council's Corporate Information Officer
Telephone: 01228 817165
E-mail: information@carlisle.gov.uk
Corporate Information Officer
Carlisle City Council
Civic Centre
Rickergate
Carlisle
CA3 8QG