Please complete the following form and then click on the 'Send Your Request' Button
Note 1 - 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 to information held by Dover District
Council (the Council) although the Council may refuse access to the information
if that information falls within any of the exemptions under the FOI.
The exemptions protect against the disclosure of information that would,
for example, harm commercial interests, information provided in confidence,
personal information and other important interests.
Note 2 - 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 eg 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
is available online.
Note 3 - 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.
Note 4 - Can I ask for personal information
about myself?
No. A request for personal information about yourself must be made under
the Data Protection Act 1998 and not FOI.
Note 5 - 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 you 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.
Note 6 - 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 or the form
above. Try to provide as much information as possible to enable the
Council to identify and locate the information which you are seeking or
requesting. When your request is received by the Freedom of Information
Officer it will be forwarded to the department concerned for the relevant
officer to gather the information requested.
For posted forms please send to the following address:
Freedom of Information Officer
Policy and Performance Unit
Dover District Council
White Cliffs Business Park
Dover
Kent CT16 3PJ
Note 7 - 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, you may wish to ask another person
or agency (such as the Citizens Advice Bureau) to help you or to make
the request on your behalf. The Council has a legal duty to provide you
with reasonable advice assistance. This 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;
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 in Note 6 above.
Note 8 - 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 are
not covered by the commitment 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.
Note 9 - 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
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 (refer
to Notes 4 and 5 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 (refer to Note 11 below).
Note 10 - 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
will only be transferred with your consent and with the consent of the
other public body.
Note 11 - Can the council charge a fee?
In certain circumstances the Council can charge a fee. Charges may apply
in respect of the search and retrieval of information in addition to charges
relating to photocopying, postage, video, tape, disk and computer runs.
Full details of charges levied by the Council are available from the Freedom
of Information Officer at the address detailed in Note 6
above. Fees may be waived where the information you are seeking would
be of particular assistance to your understanding of an issue of local
importance.
Note 12 - 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 Freedom of Information Officer.
Note 13 - When must the Council provide
me with the information I have asked for?
The Council will respond promptly to your request for information and
in any event not later than on the 20th working day of the date of receipt
of your application. If it is likely to take longer, the Council will
let you know.
Note 14 - Can the Council refuse my request
for information?
In certain circumstances the Council refuse your request for information.
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
set by the Council (refer to Note 11 above). The Council
may also refuse to accede to a request for information where the information
is considered to be exempted under FOI (refer to Note 8
above). You will be given an explanation of the reasons for refusing your
request for information.
Note 15 - 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 Freedom
of Information Officer, 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:
Policy and Performance Unit
Dover District Council
White Cliffs Business Park
Dover
Kent CT16 3PJ
Telephone: (01304) 872306
Fax: (01304) 872300
DX: 6312 Dover
Email: commentsandcomplaints@dover.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the decision on '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
Telephone: (01625) 545700
Website: www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/foi.nsf.
Note 16 - 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 Web site www.dataprotection.gov.uk/dpr/foi.nsf.
For any further information you may require in relation to your rights
of access to Dover District Council information under FOI or for a more comprehensive
guide to FOI please contact the Freedom of Information Officer at the
address detailed in Note 6 above.
Monitoring of requests received by the Council is a necessary element of an established programme for recording and analysing the types of information requested and the Council's overall performance in handling requests. Wherever possible, the Council will keep information used for requests monitoring in an anonymous form so that it cannot be linked to any particular individual. All or part of the statistical information provided may be disclosed or supplied to relevant committees of the Council and to external organisations or bodies such as the Audit Commission/Information Commissioner for statistical information purposes. The data collected for monitoring purposes is aggregated, kept apart from general personal records and subject to strictly controlled procedures.
Further Information
For more information on Freedom of information visit www.foi.gov.uk or www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.
