Freedom Of Information
In order to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) public sector organisations such as ours have to routinely publish information whenever possible.
The Information Commissioner, who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the FOIA has drawn up what is called a Model Publication Scheme for all public sector organizations which we have decided to adopt and formally commit to. The Commissioner has also published a “Definition Document for District Councils in Northern Ireland” which sets out in some detail what his minimum expectations are as far as we are concerned. These can be accessed from the Information Commissioner's website which can be accessed www.ico.gov.uk
We have reviewed the information we routinely put into the public domain to ensure we are compliant with the definition document. You will be able to see where we do not hold relevant information or where for some reason we have decided not to routinely disclose information identified in the definition document by referring to our Publication Scheme Guidance to Information, which can be accessed from the documents section below.
Most of the information we make routinely available can be accessed through our website by using the search facility. Such information is continually updated. If you cannot find information through the search engine and we have indicated in the definition document that the information is routinely available this may be because the information cannot be loaded onto our website. In such circumstances please contact Sandra McDonald and ask for the information to be provided to you.
Accessing information which is not included in the Publication Scheme.
As an open and transparent organisation we are committed to routinely publishing as much information as possible
The Freedom of Information Act and the associated Fees Regulations stipulate that we cannot levy a fee for information unless there is a statutory basis for doing so or the amount of time taken to locate the information exceeds 18 hours. However we are allowed to charge for disbursements related to the provision of information and any reformatting requested by the applicant provided we ensure that applicants are aware of any charges which may be made.
No charges will be made for any information accessed via our website.
Publication Scheme- 01/01/2009