Data Protection & Freedom of Information

We see the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act as an opportunity to improve both the ways we inform the public and the ways we manage the information we hold.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is part of a wide group of policies to modernise government and aims to promote a culture of openness and accountability within public authorities.

It will do this by giving anyone, anywhere the right to request recorded information held by public authorities. You can make a request for information by completing the Information Request Form.

Our Access to Information Policy contains a statement of what we are doing to ensure compliance with the following Acts - Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Under the Data Protection Act personal data has to be processed fairly and lawfully. This principle requires that personal data is fairly obtained. Personal data means data which relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data, or from that data and other associated information. We have produced some guidance on the Use of Fair Obtaining Notices for your information.

We also have a Publication Scheme (Revised January 2009)- a directory of the information and publications that we already make available. The purpose of the Scheme is to make information publicly available and to keep our communities fully informed as possible about our activities.

We also adhere to the Information Commissioner's guidelines on CCTV Systems and the Data Protection Act 1998. 

Re-use of Public Sector Information
A new European Directive came into force on 1st July 2005 which allows people to apply to re-use public information held by us. This document explains how you can make a request to re-use information and how we will deal with requests. Re-use of information

For further information please telephone 01246 242343, submit an enquiry form or look at our Customer's guide to requesting information from the Council.

Last Updated on Friday, 14 October 2011 15:40