Freedom of Information

How requests for information will be dealt with

Your request will be passed to the relevant service manager for him / her to deal with. If it is very straightforward it may be dealt with at first point of contact.

You will receive an acknowledgement unless your request can be dealt with straight away in which case you will receive a full response.

We are required to respond to your request within 20 working days of receiving it. If a payment is required, the 20 days response time will start when it is received. Our aim is to respond as quickly as possible within that timescale. It is essential that your request is clear. If necessary we will contact you for clarification.

If your request is verbal, and the information can be provided easily, for example: 'I would like a list of all our libraries' we will send you the information with a compliments slip. This will give you a contact point should you need any further assistance. Alternatively, we will send the information electronically if this is more convenient for you.

If your request is in writing we will normally respond formally in writing, but other formats may be available.

If we are unable to give you any of the information you requested, we will explain our decision. This may be because:

(a) The information is not held by the council but by someone else - where we can, we will tell you where you might be able to obtain it.

(b) The information is not held by the council. For example, some information may only be held for a certain length of time.

(c) The information is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In this case we will explain which exemption applies and why.