Freedom of information requests
2. Request information
Following a decision of the First Tier Information Rights Tribunal EA/2018/0033, the Authority no longer publishes business rates data on its open data webpage. It will no longer disclose information about business rate accounts in response to FOI requests.
All authorities under the act have a Publication Scheme. The scheme lists regularly released information, and where the information can be found, with contact details for relevant departments. To make a request:
- Check the Publication Scheme for information that is already published. We refer to such information as ‘business as usual’, and you can get the information from where it is noted in the scheme.
- If the information is not in the Publication Scheme, you can request it. Remember that you can order the response in a particular format. For instance, you may want a paper or electronic version, and as with disabled people, there may be a right to certain formats. If so, discuss your needs with the relevant department first.
- All requests must be made in writing by letter or email to:
Contact
Freedom of Information Office
Clearly state the information needed, which can be any recorded information such as emails, notebooks, videos or tapes. Give your name, and contact details. You do not need to say why you want the information.
4. Usually, we must reply in 20 working days of receipt. If we’re unable to do this we will state why, and tell you when to expect a response.