Freedom of Information

• About the Freedom of Information Act
• How to access information
• How we respond to information requests

About the Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has created a general right of access to information held by public authorities, including local authorities like Kirklees Council. People have the right to be told whether particular information is held in recorded form, and if so, to have a copy of it.

The Act places a number of obligations on public authorities in the way that they respond to information requests, and it also creates a number of exemptions. In particular, personal information about the person requesting information is exempt, because it is available under the Data Protection Act, which also exempts private information about other people.

Other exemptions include information which is:-

• available by other means;
• intended for future publication;
• held in confidence;
• prejudicial to commercial interests;
• held for investigations and proceedings or law enforcement;
• environmental information, available under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

In many cases the exemption Is not absolute, and we have to take account of the public interest before information can be refused.

The Freedom of Information Act also requires the Council to publish a number of classes of information in a Publication Scheme .This scheme commits an authority to publishing important information as part of its normal business activities so that people do not need to make specific requests.

How to access information

For quickest results, try the Publication Scheme, or the council's A to Z guide first. If you cannot find what you need there, please contact us:

Email: freedom.info@kirklees.gov.uk

The Information Access Officer
2nd Floor
Civic Centre 3
Market Street
Huddersfield
HD1 2YZ

Please describe as clearly as you can the sort of information you are interested in.

You should please read the Data protection page if you require details of personal information held about you.

How we respond to information requests

The Freedom of Information Act specifies that within twenty working days we must

• provide the information requested, or
• state that the information is not held if that is the case, or
• issue a refusal notice if an exemption applies.

We will do our best to respond as quickly as possible with that time.

If we have to refuse information, we will tell you which exemption applies and why, and if necessary explain why refusal is in the public interest. We will also explain your right of appeal.

If it is not clear what the information is that you require, we will contact you to clarify your request. The time that this takes is not counted in the twenty working days.

We will make a charge for photocopying (at 10p per A4 sheet or 25p per A3 sheet) or for other disbursements where the total amounts to £10 or more.

If for any reason copying is not practicable (and the information is not available on the website or in electronic form) we will contact you to make an appointment to view it.