Freedom of information

Find out more about the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and how you can access information held by the council

Overview

The Freedom of information Act 2000 (FOI Act) gives you the right to request information held by the council, subject to exemptions.

It doesn’t give you the right to council documents, records, or information on other people. This means that will be times when only some parts of a document or record will not be available to you.

If you are seeking Information about yourself, you already have the right of access under the Data Protection Act 2018 please click Here. 

Before making your information request

The council already makes information publicly available. We are committed to transparency with how we spend public money and also publishing open data in line with the Local Government Transparency Code.

Before Submitting an FOI request please look through the Open Data and some publicly accessible information here, or the wider website for publicly accessible information.

Some information may not be managed at a district level, these requests will need to be made to the relevant local authority, A non-exhaustive list of information not held by us can be found here: 

Making a request

You can make a request online, or by email or post.

Make a request: Contact Us. 

Email: foi@middevon.gov.uk

Post: Information Management, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6PP

Your request must include:

• Your Name,

• Contact Details

• A detailed description of the information you wish to obtain

• Any preferences of format for receiving the information

The council does not have to respond to broad requests for information. Please make your request as specific as possible, clearly detailing the information that you are requesting. This will help us locate the information faster.

How long does it take?

Your request will be acknowledged within five working days.

The council has up to 20 working days to comply with your request, as is sanctioned in FOI Act.

We will consider your request, and let you know if we can provide the information you request, or explain why we can’t.  

Cost Limits

If the work required to retrieve the information exceeds the cost limit of £450 the council will choose to either:

• Refuse the request on the grounds of section 12; or

• Provide an invoice for the additional costs to complete the request.

The council is not obliged to complete a request over the cost limits. If we refuse a request on the grounds of section 12 we will assess ways reduce the time burden under section 16, this will be reviewed on a discretionary basis.

Refusing a Request

A request will only be refused:

• It is a vexatious or repeated request;

• If it falls under one of the exemptions;

• If a clarification request has not been responded to within 60 days.

If the Request is refused, we will provide a detailed explanation as to why any relevant exemptions have been applied to the request.

Requesting a review

We will always try to help you with queries and requests for information.

If you disagree with any exemptions applied to your request for information, or you are not satisfied with how we have handled your request, you are entitled to ask for an internal review of the council’s response. The review panel will consist of senior officers who were not involved in the original decision. Requests for internal review can be submitted through the same channels as the original request.

If you remain dissatisfied after the completion of an internal review, you are entitled to complain directly to the ICO who will consider the way in which your request has been handled. The ICO is the regulator for the Act and offers impartial advice about any aspect of the regime. The ICO publishes extensive guidance for members of the public through its website.

Publication scheme

Under the FOI Act, public authorities are obliged to have a publication scheme. A publication scheme is a guide which informs the public about the broad classes of information that we routinely make available to the public. Mid Devon’s publication scheme can be found here.

These has been adopted in line with the ICO’s model publication scheme

Contact us

You can Contact Information using the following: 

Online: Contact Us. 

Email: foi@middevon.gov.uk

Post: Information Management, Phoenix House, Phoenix Lane, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6PP

Information Commissioner

Responsibility for overseeing the operation of the Freedom of Information Act rests with the Information Commissioner who is an independent public official responsible to Parliament. You can contact the Information Commissioner for advice, guidance or to make a complaint directly.

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0330 312 3113

Email  icocasework@ico.org.uk