Information about FOI requests
What is Freedom of Information?
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) came into force on 30
November 2000. FOI gives you the right of access from 1 January
2005 to information held by Maidstone Borough Council (the Council)
although the Council may refuse access to the information if that
information falls within any of FOI’s 24 exemptions. The exemptions
protect against the disclosure of information that would harm
commercial interests, information provided in confidence, personal
information and other important interests.
What can I ask for?
Your right to ask for information only relates to information
held by the Council at the time you make your request.
‘Information’ may be in any form e.g. a paper document,
computerised records, printouts, maps, plans, microfilm,
microfiche, audio-visual material, etc. FOI provides a right to
‘information’ rather than to records or documents. Although you are
not required to specify any particular document, you must describe
the information you are requesting in as much detail as possible.
The Council publishes a wide range of information. You may first
wish to check the Council’s Publication Scheme to find out whether
the information you are requesting has already been published or if
there are plans to do so. A copy of the Scheme may be obtained from
the Freedom of Information Officer at the address detailed below or
through the website.
Do I need to give a reason to see
information?
No. You do not have to give a reason as to why you want to see
any information. The Council must give you an explanation if you
are not given what you ask for.
Can I ask for personal information about
myself?
Yes, but a request for personal information about yourself must
be made under the Data Protection Act 1998 and not FOI.
Can I ask for personal information about a third
party?
Yes. Personal information relating to a third party will be
dealt with under FOI. However, before your are given access to
personal information relating to a third party, you may be asked to
provide proof of the third party’s consent to the disclosure.
How do I make a request for information?
Requests/applications must be in legible form i.e. in writing
and capable of being used for subsequent reference. Your request
may be sent to the
Council by electronic means such as email. Try to provide as
much information as possible to enable the Council to identify and
locate the information which you are seeking or requesting. You may
use the form entitled ‘Freedom of Information—Application Form’
available from the Freedom of Information Officer but you do not
have to do so. Your request
may be addressed to:
The Freedom of Information Officer
Maidstone Borough Council
DIP
PO BOX 524
13 Tonbridge Rd
Maidstone ME16 8HG
DX: 4819 MAIDSTONE
You must provide a name and address for correspondence (an email
address will not satisfy this requirement).
Requests from the media for information are usually dealt with
under separate arrangements by contacting The PR office
on 01622 602759 although media bodies may use the FOI
process.
How do I make a request for information if I am
suffering from a disability, am ill or
illiterate?
If you are unable to put your request in writing, perhaps as a
result of illiteracy, disability or illness, please ask another
person or agency such as the Citizens Advice Bureau) to help you or
to make the request on your behalf. The Council will provide you
with assistance, examples of which may include:
1. accepting an oral request where you are unable to read, print
and/or write due to your disability;
2. enabling you to inspect or have the information you are
requesting explained to you;
3. providing guidance in other languages (Arabic, Bengali,
Chinese, Hindi, Punjab, Somali and Urdu);
4. taking a note of your request over the telephone and then
sending the note to you for confirmation;
5. providing this leaflet in Braille or audio tape. Requests for
further assistance must be addressed to the Freedom of Information
Officer at the address detailed above.
Are there limits to the information I can ask
for?
Yes. Confidentiality is sometimes necessary to ensure the
effectiveness of the Council’s decision-making and to protect
commercial interests, information provided in confidence, personal
information and other important interests. For these reasons, some
categories of Council information re not covered by the commitments
to provide information.
Nevertheless, it is the Council’s aim to ensure that information
should be made available unless it is clearly not in the public
interest to do so. All requests for information will be considered
on their merits.
How do I describe the information I am asking
for?
If at all possible, describe the information as fully as you can
to enable the Council to identify and locate it. If you are
requesting personal and information, please state precisely in
whose name the information is held. You will not normally be given
access to the personal information of another person unless you
have obtained the written consent of that person (see above). Where
you provide insufficient information to enable the Council to
identify or locate the information you are asking for or where your
request is ambiguous, the Council will, as far as practicable,
provide you with assistance to enable you to describe more clearly
the information you are requesting. The aim of this assistance will
be to clarify the nature of the information sought and not to
determine your aims or motivation for asking for the information.
Where information is likely to be refused on cost grounds, the
Council will give you an indication of what information could be
provided within the costs ceiling.
What happens if the Council does not hold the
information?
The Council may not hold the information you are asking for
because the information may have been destroyed in accordance with
the Council’s data retention policies or the information may be
held by another public body. In such cases, you will be told that
the Council does not hold the information. Where the Council
believes that the information is held by another public body and
that it would be appropriate to transfer your request to that other
body, you will be asked whether you have any objections to the
Council making the transfer. The public body will be asked whether
it consents to your application being transferred to it. Your
application ill only be transferred with your consent and with the
consent of the other public body.
How do I receive the information I have asked
for?
You are entitled to say how you wish the information to be
communicated to you. This may be by letter, in the form of a digest
or summary of the information or by inspection of the information
at the Council’s offices on a date and at a time to be mutually
agreed between you and the Council’s Head of Service dealing with
the request.
When must the Council provide me with the information I
have asked for?
The Council will respond promptly to your request for
information and usually not later than on the 20th working day
after the date of receipt of your application. If it is likely to
take longer, the Council will let you know.
Can the Council refuse my request for
information?
Yes. Vexatious and repeated requests and/or applications made
with the aim of frustrating the operations of the Council may be
refused. The Council may refuse to accede to a request for
information where the Council estimates that the costs of complying
with the request would exceed the costs ceiling of £450. The
Council may also refuse to accede to a request for information
where the information is considered to be exempted under FOI (see
above). You will be given an explanation of the reasons for
refusing your request for information.
Can I appeal against the Council’s decision to refuse my
request for information?
Yes. If you are not satisfied with the decision i.e. your
request has been refused or where you consider that your request
has not been properly handled and the issue cannot be resolved in
discussion with the Head of Service dealing with the request, you
may ask for an ‘internal review’ of the decision under the
Council’s Corporate Complaints Procedure. Your request for an
internal review must be submitted within 4 weeks of the date of the
decision to:
Head of Corporate Law
Maidstone Borough Council
London House
5/11 London Road
Maidstone
Kent
ME16 8HR
The Council will aim to deal with complaints within 20 working
days of receipt.
If you are not satisfied with the decision of the ‘internal
review’, or where the Council has failed to respond to you within
the time specified in the Corporate Complaints Procedure or within
the time agreed between you and the Council, you may apply to the
Information Commissioner for an independent review at the following
address:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545700
Website: www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/foi.nsf
Who do I contact for further information or assistance
on Freedom of Information?
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is available from any
Government Publications Sales Office and from the Information
Commissioner’s website:www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/foi.nsf. For
any further information you may require in relation to your rights
of access to Maidstone Borough Council information under FOI please
contact the Freedom of Information Officer at the address detailed
above.
This page was last updated on 10/30/2007