Cambridgeshire County Council Publication Scheme

Transcription

1 Cambridgeshire County Council Publication Scheme The Council has adopted the Information Commissioner s Office Model publication scheme 1 in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. This publication scheme commits us to make information available to the public as part of our normal business activities. The information covered is included in the classes of information mentioned below, where the information is held. The scheme commits the Council: To proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information, including environmental information, which is held by the authority and falls within the classifications below. To specify the information which is held by the authority and falls within the classifications below. To proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information in line with the statements contained within this scheme. To produce and publish the methods by which the specific information is made routinely available so that it can be easily identified and accessed by members of the public. To review and update on a regular basis the information the authority makes available under this scheme. To produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information which is made proactively available. To make this publication scheme available to the public. To publish any dataset held by the authority that has been requested, and any updated versions it holds, unless the authority is satisfied that it is not appropriate to do so; to publish the dataset, where reasonably practicable, in an electronic form that is capable of re-use; and, if any information in the dataset is a relevant copyright work and the public authority is the only owner, to make the information available for re-use under a specified licence. The term dataset is defined in section 11(5) of the Freedom of Information Act. The terms relevant copyright work and specified licence are defined in section 19(8) of that Act. This document was last updated on 30 September This reflects the Model Publication Scheme Version

2 Classes of Information Who we are and what we do. Organisational information, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance. What we spend and how we spend it. Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts. What our priorities are and how we are doing. Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews. How we make decisions. Policy proposals and decisions. Decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations. Our policies and procedures. Current written protocols for delivering our functions and responsibilities. Lists and Registers. Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority. The Services we Offer. Advice and guidance, booklets and leaflets, transactions and media releases. A description of the services offered. The classes of information will not generally include: Information the disclosure of which is prevented by law, or exempt under the Freedom of Information Act, or is otherwise properly considered to be protected from disclosure. Information in draft form. Information that is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that have been placed in archive storage, or is difficult to access for similar reasons. The method by which information published under this scheme will be made available The authority will indicate clearly to the public what information is covered by this scheme and how it can be obtained. Where it is within the capability of a public authority, information will be provided on a Where it is impracticable to make information available on a website or when an individual does not wish to access the information by the website, a public authority will indicate how information can be obtained by other means and provide it by those means. In exceptional circumstances some information may be available only by viewing in

3 person. Where this manner is specified, contact details will be provided. An appointment to view the information will be arranged within a reasonable timescale. Information will be provided in the language in which it is held or in such other language that is legally required. Where an authority is legally required to translate any information, it will do so. Obligations under disability and discrimination legislation and any other legislation to provide information in other forms and formats will be adhered to when providing information in accordance with this scheme. Charges which may be made for Information published under this scheme The purpose of this scheme is to make the maximum amount of information readily available at minimum inconvenience and cost to the public. Charges made by the authority for routinely published material will be justified and transparent and kept to a minimum. Material which is published and accessed on a website will be provided free of charge. Charges may be made for information subject to a charging regime specified by Parliament. Charges may be made for actual disbursements incurred such as: photocopying postage and packaging the costs directly incurred as a result of viewing information Charges may also be made for information provided under this scheme where they are legally authorised, they are in all the circumstances, including the general principles of the right of access to information held by public authorities, justified and are in accordance with a published schedule or schedules of fees which is readily available to the public. If a charge is to be made, confirmation of the payment due will be given before the information is provided. Payment may be requested prior to provision of the information. Written Requests Information held by a public authority that is not published under this scheme can be requested in writing, when its provision will be considered in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Guide to the Publication Scheme We are required to publish a guide to the information available in line with the classes of information and our guide is We are not obliged to alter our website to include sections that fit the classes and

4 s of the scheme. Each piece of information will be found in the most relevant section of the website, rather than all of the information covered by a necessarily being listed in the same place. The definition document s are stated below alongside some pointers on where to find relevant information. Some of the s listed in the definition document are very specific (e.g. Forward Plan ). These will relate to a document or group of documents and we will often be able to direct you to a specific part of the Internet site where they are published. Some of the s are very broad and could potentially cover many different documents we hold (e.g. internal communications guidance, criteria used for decisionmaking, internal instructions, manuals and guidelines ). The ICO s guidance states that we do not need to publish information that falls under a where it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare this material for routine release. Consequently, where necessary we have stated our interpretation of the in the table below. It is in these cases that the information will be spread over different parts of the website, depending on the specific topic each piece relates to. If we do not list the information in our guide (i.e. on our Internet site), either by publishing the information directly or by stating how a copy can be obtained, the information currently has not been identified as being published under the scheme. In this situation, you can still submit a Freedom of Information request for the information, which will be considered within twenty working days. If at the end of the process we feel it would be helpful to publish the information, for instance if we have received several requests on the same topic, we will add it to our Internet site. We will continue to review our scheme with the intention of publishing further information of public interest. In the majority of cases the information will be directly available on the Where information is only available in print, by visiting a Council office or upon payment of a fee, this will explained in the relevant section on the Any queries regarding the Publication Scheme can be sent to the Information Governance Team: Information Governance Team Box SH1202 Cambridgeshire County Council Shire Hall Cambridge CB3 0AP foi@cambridgeshire.gov.uk Tel

5 Class 1 Who We Are and What We Do Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts Council constitution Council democratic structure Organisational chart All of the relevant information can be found under the Council and Democracy section of our website Location and opening times of council properties Currently elected councillors information and contact details Contact details for all customer-facing departments Most recent election results Relationships with other authorities

6 Class 2 What We Spend and How We Spend It Financial information about projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit. Please note that anything with significant financial implications for the Council will be subject to a decision by Councillors and, where possible, will be discussed in public. Such details can be found in minutes and reports to Committees. Financial statements, budgets and variance reports Capital programme Spending reviews Financial audit reports The members allowances scheme and the allowances paid under it to councillors each year Staff allowances and expenses Finance section of Finance section of See the Members Allowances page on our website See Senior Managers Salaries and Expenses on Pay and grading structure See Senior Managers Salaries and Expenses on Election expenses (returns or declarations and accompanying documents relating to election expenses sent to the council) Procurement procedures Not applicable to the County Council. Contact the relevant District Council for this information. See the Procurement section on

7 Details of contracts currently being tendered List of contracts awarded and their value See the Procurement section on See the Procurement section on District auditor s report Finance section of Financial statements for projects and events Finance section of Internal financial regulations Funding for partnership arrangements Finance section of Finance section of

8 Class 3 What our priorities are Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews. Annual reports Strategies and business plans for services provided by the council Best value local performance plan Internal and external organisation performance reviews See the Business Plan section of our website Strategies developed in partnership with other authorities Economic development action plan Forward plan Capital strategy Best value performance indicators See the Economic Development section of

9 District auditor s reports on the best value performance plan and performance indicators Comprehensive performance assessment Inspection reports Local Area Agreements Statistical information produced in accordance with the council s and departmental requirements Impact assessments Also see the Open Data section and our Research section. This will be included in Reports to Committees. Service standards Public service agreements Details on published service standards can be found on our website relating to the service concerned.

10 Class 4 How we make decisions Decision-making processes and records of decisions Timetable of council meetings Agendas, officers reports, background papers and minutes of council committee, sub committee and standing forum meetings Major policy proposals and decisions Facts and analyses of facts considered when framing major policies See the Democracy and Decision Making section on our See the Democracy and Decision Making section on our See the Democracy and Decision Making section on our See the Democracy and Decision Making section on our Public consultations See the Consultation Finder Internal communications guidance, criteria used for decision making, internal instructions, manuals and guidelines See the Democracy and Decision Making section on our

11 Class 5 Our Policies and Procedures Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities. Policies and procedures for conducting council business See the Democracy and Decision Making section on our Policies and procedures for delivering our services Policies and procedures about the recruitment and employment of staff sections of our website as well as individual documents published in the relevant website section for the service concerned. See the Jobs and Careers section on Customer service Records management and personal data policies See the Customer Service and Complaints section on our See the Access to Information section on Charging regimes and policies Charging regimes and policies are published in the relevant website section for the service concerned.

12 Class 6 Lists and Registers Public registers and registers held as public records Asset registers and information asset register See the Statutory Register of Members' Interests section on Details of access to public records can be found in the Cambridgeshire Archives section on See the Asset Management section on our website for details on property assets. Disclosure logs Register of councillors financial and other interests See the FOI Requests and Responses section on our See the Statutory Register of Members' Interests section on Register of gifts and hospitality Highways, licensing, planning, commons, footpaths etc See the Statutory Register of Members' Interests section on See the 'Licences and permits', and 'Countryside and rights of way' sections on Register of electors Register of electors is available to view in Libraries. Copies of the edited register are available from the District Councils

13 Class 7 - Services Provided by the Council Regulatory and licensing responsibilities Services for local businesses Services for other organisations Information that falls under these s makes up the majority of information available on our Internet site. Please use the various search methods to see what is available for the specific topic you are interested in. Services for members of the public Services for which the council is entitled to recover a fee, together with those fees Information for visitors to the area, leisure information, events, museums, libraries and archive collections Leaflets, booklets and newsletters Advice and guidance Media releases Please see the News section on Election information Please see the Elections and Voting section on