Under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, you can ask that we make available to you any information held by the council, that has not already been published. The act does not cover opinions or recollections unless they are already recorded.
To look at information which has already been published, see: Publication Scheme
Once we receive your request under Freedom of Information, we will:
acknowledge receipt as soon as it is received
review the request to make sure we can release the data
Inform you if a charge applies to be able to release it
provide you with the data within 20 working days
inform you if we will take longer than 20 working days to provide it
You can call our Customer Resolution team. A team member would be happy to guide you through the form or fill this out for you.
Phone: 01268 533 333
Fee Regulations
The method of calculating charges within this policy is in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (appropriate limits and fees) Regulations 2004.
Estimating the costs of processing requests; (section 4(3) of the FOI regulations)
When estimating the cost of complying with a written request for Information, Basildon Council will take into account the staff time involved in the following activities:
• Determining whether the information is held.
• Locating the information or a document that may contain the information.
• Retrieving and extracting the information, or a document that may contain the Information.
The cost of the above activities will be calculated by applying an hourly rate of £25 per person, (section 4(4) of the FOI regulations.)
When calculating the costs to process requests, the Council cannot take account of the time taken to consider whether information is exempt under the Act.
Where the cost to process a request is below £450
Where the cost of complying with a written request for information is estimated to be below £450, there will be no charge unless the disbursement costs (printing copying and postage) exceed £5. Where disbursement costs exceed £5, the applicant will be issued with a fees notice and must pay the costs within a period of three months before the Council can comply with the request. Disbursements costs applied by the Council are shown below.
Where the cost to process a request exceeds £450
In accordance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (appropriate Limits and Fees) Regulations 2004, the Council is not obliged to respond to a written request for information, where it estimates that the cost of complying with the request would be in excess of £450 (which equates to 18 hours of work at £25 per hour).
• Staff costs (£25 per hour) involved in determining whether the Council holds the information.
• Staff costs (£25 per hour) of locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
• Disbursement and staff costs (£25 per hour) incurred in informing the applicant that the information is held.
• Disbursement and staff costs (£25 per hour) incurred in communicating the information to the applicant.
• In all cases the costs must be 'reasonable'.
Campaign requests
If the Council receives two or more related requests within a period of 60 consecutive working days, from a person or different persons who appear to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign, the costs of complying with the individual requests will be aggregated.
Disbursements
Photocopies:
A4 Black & White 20p per sheet
A3 Black & White 30p per sheet
A4 Colour £1.00 per sheet
A3 Colour £1.50 per sheet
Prints from a PC:
Black & White 20p per page (additional cost for producing A3)
Colour £1.00 per page (additional cost for producing A3)
Photo quality paper prints £1.50 per page
Postage costs will also apply.
The Council will not charge for:
Providing information in an alternative format if the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) covers the person requesting it, unless the original document was a priced publication. In this case, the charge for the alternative format will not exceed the cost of original publication.
Notifying charges
Where charges apply, the Council will notify the estimated charge to the applicant before doing any charged work.
Where there is a significant difference between the estimated and the actual charge, the Council will notify the applicant.
Where charges apply, the Council will require payment before compiling and supplying information.
If a charge is not paid within the specified time limit of 3 months, the information will not be supplied.
