Freedom of Information Publication Scheme

A guide to information published by and about the council

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) came into force fully on 1st January 2005. It gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, including the County of Herefordshire District Council ("the Council"). It sets out exemptions from that right and imposes a number of obligations on the Council.

From the 1st January 2004, the Council was required to adopt and maintain a publication scheme. This is a scheme which sets out:

• the classes of information that it publishes or intends to publish
• the manner in which it is or is intended to be published and
• whether the material is intended to be available to the public free of charge or not.

The Council is committed to a policy of open access to information where possible and the operation of this publication scheme is seen as a welcome opportunity to promote this ethos.It includes details on the following areas:

• Who we are and what we do
• What we spend and how we spend it
• What our priorities are and how we are doing
• How we make decisions
• Our policies and procedures
• Lists and registers
• Services provided by the council

The purpose of the publication scheme is two fold, firstly to ensure that the amount of specific requests that the public can make from 2005 will be reduced because it is already included in the scheme and secondly to provide a readily accessible tool for the public to enable them to see what is available.  However, if any information of interest cannot be found in the publication scheme then a request can be made directly to the council.

You can download the publication scheme below.

Requesting information

Any person who makes a request to a public authority for information must be informed whether or not the public authority holds the information requested and, subject to exemptions detailed in the FOIA, supplied with that information. This is known as a 'Right to know' request.

Further details about how to request information can be accessed from the FOI requests link on the left hand menu.