Freedom of Information Policy
Version 3
Document Information
Document title: / Scottish Enterprise Freedom of Information PolicyDocument file name: / FOI Policy v3
Author (Owner of the Policy): / Karen Hannah
Issued by: / Karen Hannah
Issue Date: / 30/08/2010
Status: / Approved
Review Date / August 2010
Who to contact / Karen Hannah, FOI Officer, 0141 228 2636
Revision History
Oct 2004Jan 2005
Dec 2008
Aug 2010 / Version 0.1 Draft for Approval
Version 1.0 Approved – no substantive amendments
Version 2.0 Revised by Karen Hannah to reflect the wind up of LECs and new organisational structure. Administrative changes only.
Version 30 Revised following Information Commissioner’s assessment to include recommendations
1
Purpose
1. This policy sets out the principles of the approach adopted within Scottish Enterprise to compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Scope
2. This is a Scottish Enterprise Policy which, along with the associated procedure, documented in the Scottish Enterprise Enquiry and Information Request Handling Process, applies to all SE staff. Compliance is mandatory.
Definitions
3. Freedom of Information (FOI) Request (FOISA): A request for information which is in writing or another permanent form which states the name of the applicant and an address for correspondence and describes the information requested.
4. Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs): A request for information made either in writing or other permanent form, or a request received orally/by telephone, for information considered to be “environmental information”. See paragraph 19 for further details.
5. Publication Scheme: A scheme approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner which specifies the classes of information which a Scottish Public Authority publishes or intends to publish, the manner in which information in each class is published and whether it is available to the public free of charge or on payment.
6. Exemption: One of the grounds for withholding information permitted by FOISA.
7. Exception: One of the grounds for withholding information permitted by the EIRs
8. Excessive Cost of Compliance: Where the cost of complying with the request would exceed an amount prescribed in regulations made by Scottish Ministers (currently £600).
9. Publish: to make publically available – on the internet and/or in hard copy.
10. Public Interest Test: The process of considering the public interest in making available information which might otherwise be exempt.
Roles
11. The Central Freedom of Information Team, consisting of the Freedom of Information Officer and Head of Corporate Office, is responsible for Scottish Enterprise’s Freedom of Information policy and procedures. They are responsible for verifying all responses to FOI/EIR requests; approving any decision to withhold information in response to a request on grounds of one or more of the exemptions to the Act, or exceptions in relation to EIRs, and providing guidance on FOI legislation / procedures to colleagues.
12. Each business unit has a local Freedom of Information Contact, who is responsible for ensuring that FOI requests received by the business unit are processed promptly and in accordance with the standard processes. They are also responsible for promoting awareness of FOI within the business unit, handling straightforward queries from colleagues on FOI matters and referring more complex queries to the central team.
13. Responsibility for retrieving the information relevant to an FOI request and ensuring that it is accurate, up to date and fully addresses the terms of the request rests with the business owners of the information. Where there is no sensitivity about releasing the information the request will be handled locally. Each business unit needs to define who is authorised to approve the issue of a response.
14. Each class of information in the SE Publication Scheme is allocated to an information owner, who is responsible for ensuring that the information is published.
15. The Enquiry Fulfilment Response Services (EFRS) is the nominated first point of contact for formal FOI requests and also for people seeking hard copy or e-mail copies of information in the publication scheme. However, in practice, requests may be received in any part of the organisation and all staff need to be able to recognise an FOI request and ensure it is handled according to the standard process.
Policy Statement
16. Scottish Enterprise will comply with the spirit as well as the letter of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act. To this end we have in place a standard process based on the principle of openness. This process is set out in the document Scottish Enterprise Enquiry and Information Request Handling Process, and includes mandatory steps which will ensure that the legal requirements are met in the case of requests covered by the Act.
17. At the same time we wish to maintain the trust of our customers, and will ensure that in all cases where information relating to third parties is the subject of a request, we will consider whether it is appropriate to use the commercial interests or personal information exemptions and will consult the third parties as appropriate to enable us to make this decision.
18. Decisions on the use of exemptions, including consideration of the public interest test, will be reached through discussion between the business owner, the local FOI contact and the central team.
Charging
19. Scottish Enterprise will not charge for fulfilling requests for information which is not in a publication scheme but reserves the right to invoke the provisions relating to excessive cost of compliance. In such cases, the Central FOI Team will be consulted to agree the way forward and to make the final decision.
Refusal on Grounds of Excessive Costs
20. When a FOISA request is received where we estimate that it will cost over £600 to retrieve and supply the information, we will, whenever possible, attempt to narrow the scope of the request and provide what we can within the threshold rather than refusing it outright.
Requests for Environmental Information
21. Access to environmental information is governed by separate regulations, known as the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs). We will only treat such requests differently when the regulations require us to do so. These circumstances are:
· The need to include oral requests for environmental information in the formal process
· The application of the exemptions/exceptions which are different in FOISA and EIRs
· The handling of complex or voluminous requests, as there is no cost ceiling under EIRs
22. Charges for Environmental Information:
We do not charge for the time to determine whether we hold the information requested, or for the time it takes to decide whether the information can be released. Charges may be made for locating, retrieving and providing information to you.
In the event that the cost of providing the information is substantial, e.g. where costs will exceed £600, applicants will be notified of the cost and how it has been calculated. The information will be provided on payment of the charge. If the applicant decides not to proceed with the request there will be no charge incurred.
Where information costs between £100 and £600 to provide the applicant may be asked to pay a portion of the costs.
Charges are calculated on the basis of the actual cost to the organisation of providing the information.
· Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying, 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying.
· Postage is charged at actual rate for first class mail.
· Staff time is calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.
The Central FOI team should be consulted should any request be perceived as a request for “environmental information”.
23 The Central FOI team will be involved in considering all requests for environmental information which are sensitive, complex or voluminous.
Retrieval of Deleted Electronic Information
24 The Scottish Information Commissioner has ruled that information will not be deemed to be “held” by a public authority if it has been deleted from an IT system and can only be retrieved by an IT specialist. Within Scottish Enterprise, retrieval of such documents (other than any sent to a waste or recycle bin which has not been emptied) can only be done through a complete system restore. Our policy is that restores will not be carried out to retrieve information in response to an FOI request.