Publication Scheme - background information
1. Introduction
1.1 Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires each public authority in England and Wales, and elsewhere in the United Kingdom to:
- adopt and maintain a publication scheme (which relates to the publication of information by the authority concerned)
- publish information in accordance with its publication scheme
- from time to time to review its publication scheme
1.2 Publication schemes must specify 'classes of information' which the authority publishes, or intends to publish; set out how the information in each 'class' is published, or will be published; and whether the information is available free of charge or on payment.
1.3 The Freedom of Information Act, and the development of publication schemes such as this, are key to the further development of the access of information by local people, and by others, to information which is held by public authorities such as this council. The Freedom of Information Act builds upon and complements previous legislation including the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and the Data Protection Act.
1.4 The publication scheme developed and published by this council builds upon other authority-wide preparations to meet parallel electronic-government performance targets. Electronic government, including the worldwide web, will assist the council, like others, to make the classes of information set out in its publication scheme freely available to the public as a matter of course.
1.5 As noted above, 'published information' refers to much more than traditionally printed material – published documents, plans, reports – and includes publication on the council's web site, one – off reports and documents prepared for the council on a personal computer, leaflets, reports and other information.
1.6 The requirement to publish information in accordance with the publication scheme is an absolute statutory requirement, and applies to all council services, subject to a limited range of exemptions (see below).
2. Exempt information
2.1 The Freedom of Information Act sets out a range of information which is excluded from the requirement to be published. These include a number of absolute exemptions including information which is accessible to the applicant by other means, information provided in confidence, information where disclosure would constitute contempt of court, and personal information (where the applicant is the subject of the information).
In addition, there are other exemptions where the council has first to consider whether or not disclosure is required in the public interest. These include information relating to investigations and proceedings by the council, its audit functions, information on the formulation of policy, information where disclosure would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs, and information on commercial and contractual matters. In these cases, and others specified by the Act, the council must consider whether the public interest in withholding the information requested outweighs the public interest in releasing it. All such requests for information must be treated on their merits, and a judgement made in each case as to whether the information is exempted or not. Where the council believes that the information is exempted, the applicant must be advised, with specific reasons given.
2.2 General correspondence set or received by the council, and all information relating to private individuals is excluded by virtue of it being personal data under the Data Protection Act. It should be noted that the Freedom of Information Act sits alongside Data Protection legislation, and does not have any impact upon existing arrangements for requests made by individuals under that legislation relating to personal data.
2.3 The council's publication scheme, as set out on our web site, relates to information which is currently published by the council, or which the council intends to publish. This does not mean that older, historical information cannot be obtained. Much older information on the council, and on the council's predecessors in public administration, is available through Walsall Archives.
3. Requests for information listed in the publication scheme
3.1 The publication scheme sets out clearly the broad range of information that is produced by the council. The council's web site acts as a guide to what information is available. Details can be obtained from the service concerned or from the Freedom of Information Officer. Contact us.
When making a request for information, please include:
- your name and address
- the information or documents you require (please be as specific as you can)
- the format you would prefer – printed, large print, electronic version via email, floppy disk
The council aims to provide information listed in the scheme within five working days.
4. Charging for information
4.1 The council already makes a wide range of printed information available at no cost, and material is also available via the council's website: Some material is published at a charge – for instance, some historical publications of the Local History Centre – and this will continue.
4.2 Where information is specifically printed off to meet an enquiry, the council reserves the right to make a reasonable charge, to cover any printing or staff time, as identified by individual service areas. Please see Information Requests - fees and charges
5. Feedback on the publication scheme
5.1 Any questions, comments or complaints about this scheme should be sent to the Assurance Team.
6. About this council
6.1 Publication schemes must include a brief description of the responsibilities of the authority.
6.2 Walsall Council is responsible for the provision of the full range of local government services to the borough of Walsall, including education and schools, social services, libraries, museums and leisure, community education, highways and planning, environmental health and consumer services, waste management, and housing services. The council comprises 60 elected Councillors, representing local residents living within 20 electoral wards.
6.3 Overall responsibility for Freedom of Information within the council lies with the Executive Director for Regeneration.
7. Other formats
7.1 The information in this publication scheme can be made available on request in alternative formats including Braille, large print, audio tape, or in other languages.
