Freedom of Information
As a public sector organisation, the council must be open and transparent. The Freedom of Information Act allows anyone to request any non-personal information which is held by the council.
This is otherwise known as a Freedom of Information Request (FOI). Under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) you can request environmental information held by the council, otherwise known as an Environmental Information Regulations Request.
How to make a Freedom of Information request
Model Publication Scheme
The Freedom of Information Act created a general right of access to information. The purpose of the council’s Model Publication Scheme is to let everyone know what information will be automatically or routinely published by the council and to ensure that a significant amount of information is available to the public, without the need for a specific request to be made.
The Model Publication Scheme commits an authority to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities. The information covered is included in the classes of information mentioned below, where this information is held by the authority.
Classes of Information:
- Who we are and what we do
- What we spend and how we spend it
- What our priorities are and how we are doing
- How we make decisions
- Our policies and procedures
- Lists and registers
- The services we offer
Seaton Valley Council Model Publication Scheme
You can read more about Publication Schemes on the Information Commissioner’s Office website – Publication Schemes