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What is the Freedom of Information Act 2000?
The Act requires all public authorities, including Councils, to be open with
information. The Act gives a general
right of access to all types of recorded information held by the Council. It sets out exemptions from that right and
places various obligations upon the Council. The Act comes into force in two stages. From February 2003 the Council must adopt and maintain a
Publication Scheme. From January 2005 any person who makes a request to
the Council for information must be informed whether the Council holds that
information and, subject to exemptions, supplied with that information.
For more details, click here.
What is a Publication Scheme ?
A Publication Scheme is a guide to the information that the
Council routinely publishes. It
includes all forms of information from a bound book or brochure to a mass
produced leaflet and web based information.
The purpose of this Publication
Scheme is to ensure that a significant amount of information is available
without the need for a specific request. The Publication Scheme sets out the classes of information that it
publishes or intends to publish; how the information in each class is, or is
intended to be published and any charge that may apply.
The officer responsible for the
Publication Scheme is Ian Davison. You
can contact him on 01403 215470 or e-mail him at foi@horsham.gov.uk. A number of specific officers are responsible
for maintaining the information within their areas of work on a day to day
basis. The officers are named in the
Scheme together with direct telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
For a full copy of the Publication Scheme and the terms and conditions click here.
The Web site
This web site is intended to
operate as a convenient user-friendly resource to enable you to find easily the
information you are looking for. There
are two methods for you to search for information. The first is to use the search facility, this
allows searching by key words such as “refuse”, or “planning”. The second is to use the Tree navigation. This classifies information according to
the “CATEGORIES” (with the  icon), ”sub-categories” (with the  icon)
and “classes” (with the  icon) of data to
which the information belongs. This
will enable you to focus on areas you are interested in.
Formats available
In addition to being available on the
Council’s website, the complete Publication Scheme is available in paper format
at all of its offices within the district. A copy will also be available at the information help point in Horsham
library and in each of the parishes where the parish council has an office open
to the public.
Charging
The Council wishes to make as much
information as possible available free of charge. However some Publications have a cover charge. Where photo copies of documents are
required, these will be charged for.
Feedback
The Council welcomes comments and
suggestions on how it can improve the scheme as it is important that the Scheme
meets your needs.
Please send your comments to:
Ian Davison
Head of Legal Services
Horsham District Council
Park House
North Street
Horsham RH12 1RL
Telephone: 01403 215470
E-mail: foi@horsham.gov.uk
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