Freedom of Information Act - publication scheme

What is the Freedom of Information Act?

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) the council has a statutory responsibility to adopt and maintain a publication scheme that sets out:

  • The groups or classes of information held by the council.
  • How the information is, or will be published.
  • Whether there is a charge for this information and how much that charge will be.

The council has adopted the model scheme provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office. It is a guide to the information we routinely publish and is intended to ensure that a wide range of information is easily available without the need to make specific requests for information. It is not a list of documents/publications, rather than a description of the classes or types of information that we publish.
 

    Information Classes

    Who we are and what we do

    Organisational information, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance.

    • Council constitution
    • Council’s democratic structure
    • Currently elected councillor’s information and contact details
    • Most recent election results
    • Relationships with other authorities

    What we spend and how we spend it

    Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts.

    • Details of contracts currently tendered
    • List of contracts awarded and their value
    • The Member’s allowances scheme and the allowance paid under it to councillors every year
    • Staff allowances and expenses that can be claimed
    • Pay and grading structure (for posts)
    • Election expenses

    What our priorities are and how well we do it

    Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews.

    • Strategies and business plans for services provided by the council
    • Best value performance indicators
    • Internal and external organisation performance review
    • Inspection reports
    • Annual reports
    • Service standards
    • Financial states, budgets and variance reports

    How we make decisions

    Policy proposals and decisions. Decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations.

    • Timetable of council meetings
    • Internal communications guidance, criteria used for decision making, internal instructions, manuals and guidelines.
    • Major policy proposals and decisions

    Our policies and procedures

    Current written protocols for delivering our functions and responsibilities.

    • Policies and procedures for conducting council business
    • Policies and procedures for delivering our services
    • Policies and procedures about the recruitment and employment of staff

    Lists and registers

    Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority.

    • Public registers and registers held as public records​
    • Request logs
    • Environmental health public register

    Services provided by the council

    Advice and guidance, booklets and leaflets, transactions and media releases. A description of the services offered.

    • Details of the services the council provides
    • Services for local businesses
    • Services for other organisations
    • Services for members of the public
    • Services for which the council is entitled to recover a fee, together with that fee
    • Media releases
    • Councils magazine for residents

    Exceptions to disclosure

    Within these classes there is some information which will not be disclosed for one of the following reasons:

    • Disclosure is prevented by law e.g. information relating to matters of national security; the information is personal and/or private to individuals and is therefore exempt under the Freedom of Information Act e.g. information relating to your neighbour; or the information is otherwise properly considered to be protected from disclosure.
    • The information is in draft form.
    • The information is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that have been placed on archive storage, or is difficult to access for similar reasons. Limitations may apply as to the length of time certain documents are kept by the council e.g.the focus of this scheme is to make current information readily available.
    Freedom of Information Team

    Freedom of Information Team contact information

    Post only, Civic, 1 Saxon Gate East, Milton Keynes MK9 3EJ