Fill - Free fillable Application Form June 2019 Webpage (Dartford Borough Council) PDF form

DARTFORD

BOROUGH COUNCIL

Refer to the

attached

Notes for

guidance

REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO INFORMATION UNDER

THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

OR THE

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS

2004

Note 2

Please read the Guidance accompanying this Application Form BEFORE you complete this Form. You

may also visit Dartford Borough Council’s website www.dartford.gov.uk. which has been designed as a

dedicated guide to, and source of, information about the Council. If you do not have access to the

internet, please contact the Freedom of Information Officer for advice and assistance.

Please complete this Form as clearly and as fully as possible

Notes 1

To:

and 6

The Freedom of Information Officer

The Freedom of Information Unit

Dartford Borough Council

Room E3

Civic Centre

Home Gardens

Dartford

Kent

DA1 1DR

DX: 142726 Dartford 7

Email: foi@dartford.gov.uk

Web-site: www.dartford.gov.uk

Notes 2:3:4

I wish to request access to the following information, which I believe to be held by Dartford Borough

and 11

Council. I understand that I may be required to pay a fee for the information and that where a fee

applies, the information will not be released by the Council until the fee has been paid.

Detail sufficiently precisely the information requested

Notes 2

and 6

My request applies to information from

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

Note 5

I understand that I will not normally be given access to the information which affects the legal rights of

third parties unless the third party agrees to its release.

Note 10

I understand that the Council may not hold the information I am requesting and that the Council may

need to consider whether it is appropriate for my application (in whole or in part) to be transferred to

another public body. Where this is the case, I consent to my application being transferred

Notes 1:

3:4:5:8 and

I understand that some or all of the information I am requesting may be exempt from disclosure and

that where this is the case, I will be provided with an explanation as to why the information (in whole or

in part) cannot be released.

Note 12

My preferred form of access to the information is: (tick whichever is appropriate)

1. View/inspect original information

2. Receive copies by post

3. Receive electronic copies

4. Receive a digest or summary of

the information by post or email

5. Other (please specify)

NB: The Council will give you a reason if it is unable to provide the information in your preferred form of

access

Note 18

I understand that copyright may apply to information which is disclosed by the Council and that if I

make multiple copies of the information and/or issue copies of the information to the public that I may

require a licence from the copyright holder.

Note 6

Personal Details of Applicant

Please use BLOCK letters

Surname:

First Name:

Address:

Tel (Home):

Tel (Business):

Mobile No:

Email:

Dated:

Please let the Freedom of Information Officer know why the website www.dartford.gov.uk was not

able to satisfy your needs.

Once you have completed this form, save it, and click Submit

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

Office Use Only

Date FOI request received and Monitoring Form updated:

Date request forwarded to relevant Council Department:

Date request transferred to another public body (where applicable):

Date Applicant informed of the transfer (where applicable):

Date exemptions (where applicable) considered by relevant Department (in consultation with the Freedom of

Information Officer):

Date Duty to Confirm/Deny exercised (qualified exemptions only):

Date Fees Notice issued (where applicable):

Date by which fee to be paid (where applicable):

Date fee paid (where applicable):

Date Applicant given the decision to release the information:

Date Applicant given the decision and reasons for not releasing the information and advised of the right to ask

for an internal review of the decision under the Corporate Complaints Procedure.

Date Monitoring Form updated:

DATA PROTECTION - We will use the personal information you give us to administer our access to information

functions.

Our lawful bases for processing your personal information are:

• our legal obligation(s) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

• our legal obligation(s) under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004

• necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority

vested in us as Data Controller (under the above legislation)

Dartford Borough Council, Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford, Kent DA1 1DR is the Data Controller

dataprotection@dartford.gov.uk

Please refer to our Corporate Privacy Notice for further details on how we process your personal information and

your rights.

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

GUIDANCE ON HANDLING INFORMATION REQUESTS

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 Dartford Borough Council (the Council) although the Council may refuse access to the

information if that information falls within any of FOI's 24 exemptions (13 of which apply more specifically to local

authorities). The exemptions protect against the disclosure of information that would 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 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 in Note 6 below or by logging onto http//:www.dartford.gov.uk/

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 will automatically be treated as a subject access request

under the Data Protection Act 2018 and for the purposes of a response, the 30-day calendar period under the 2018

Act will apply. A fee may be payable. For further information email:dataprotection@dartford.gov.uk

or see our

guidance on subject access requests.

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, the Council may require that third party’s consent to the

disclosure particularly where the third party’s legal rights may be affected by your request e.g. where the third party’s

right to personal privacy or the right to have information treated in confidence may be prejudiced.

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 e-mail. 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 ‘Request for access to information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000’ available from

the Freedom of Information Officer. Your request must be addressed to:

The Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Unit

Dartford Borough Council

Civic Centre

Home Gardens

Dartford

Kent

DA1 1DR

DX: 142726 DARTFORD 7

Email: foi@dartford.gov.uk

Web-site: http//:www.dartford.gov.uk/

You must provide a name and address for correspondence (an e-mail address will satisfy this requirement).

equests from the media for information are dealt with under separate arrangements by contacting the

Communications Team (Tel: 01322 343069: Email: communications@dartford.gov.uk

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

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, 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 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 commer

cial 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 Note 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?

YES. Charges will apply in certain circumstances. There will be no charge for the search, retrieval and collation etc

of information where the costs are estimated to be less than £450.00 (the Threshold). The Council may however

charge the full costs of disbursements e.g. photocopying, postage, video, tape, disk, computer runs etc.

There will be a charge for the search, retrieval and collation etc of information where costs are estimated to exceed

the Threshold. A minimum charge of £25.00 per hour will be applied for the time taken to locate, retrieve and collate

etc information for release. In addition to the hourly rate, the Council may charge the full costs of disbursements e.g.

photocopying, postage, video, tape, disk, computer runs etc. If your request falls within this category, you will be

provided with an estimate of the cost of providing the information before the Council starts any work on your behalf.

The Council will suggest ways for you to amend your request so as to reduce or eliminate the amount of the charge.

Fees may be waived or reduced 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 respond to my request?

The Council will respond promptly to your request for information and in any event not later than on the 20

working

day of the date of receipt of your application. If it is likely to take longer, the Council will let you know.

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

Note 14. 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 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 make a request for Environmental Information?

YES. You have rights of aces to a broad range of environmental information such as information on the state of the

environment, (air, water, soil and land), information on genetically modified organisms, information on emissions and

discharges, noise, energy, radiation, waste and other such substances, measures designed to protect the

environment and plans, programmes, cost benefit and other economic analyses which relate to roads, traffic

maintenance, land use planning, development control and buildings and estates

Requests for environmental information and any applicable fees will be dealt with in accordance with guidance issued

by the Information Commissioner and the

code of practice on the discharge of the obligations of public authorities

under EIR .

Note 16. 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, or where you dispute the fee, or where you did not receive all the information requested, or you

feel that the exemptions have been wrongly applied, or your application was not dealt with within the 20 working day

time limit, 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:

The Corporate Complaints Officer

Dartford Borough Council

Civic Centre

Home Gardens

Dartford

Kent DA1 1DR

Email: complaints.officer@dartford.gov.uk

Web-site: www.dartford.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

Tel: 44 (0) 1625 545700

Web-site: www.ico.gov.uk

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

Note 17. Who do I contact for further information or assistance on Freedom of Information?

For any further information you may require in relation to your rights of access to Dartford Borough Council

information under FOI or the EIR, please contact the Freedom of Information Officer at the address detailed in Note 6

above or see the Information Commissioner’s website www.ico.gov.uk

Note 18. Can I be held liable for breach of copyright?

Not unless you breach copyright laws. Information may be subject to copyright protection. If you wish to use any

such information in a way that would infringe copyright, for example by making multiple copies, or issuing copies to

the public, you will require a licence from the copyright holder. Disclosure without this licence would be considered

an offence and prosecutable.

Freedom of Information/Requests Procedure/Application Form and Guidance Note

13 June 2019

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