Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on 1st January 2005 enabling greater access to information that is held by public authorities. The Act provides anyone, regardless of age, nationality or location, the right of access to recorded official information of all types, although some exemptions may be applied to protect information properly kept confidential.
Applicants can obtain certain documents as detailed on the Council's publication scheme that sets out the kinds of information that the Council routinely makes available, such as committee minutes, reports etc. It also gives details of where there is a charge for supplying the information. A paper copy of the publication scheme is available on request at the Customer Services Centre, Town Hall, Princes Street, Ipswich.
If you want to ask the Council for any information not in the publication scheme, your request must be in writing, (this includes emails). The request must state your name and address for correspondence and describe the information required. A Freedom of Information request form has been produced for you to print and complete if required:
Freedom of Information Request Form [33Kb]
Freedom of Information Request Form [24Kb]
although it is not necessary to use this form to make a valid request. The completed request for information should be sent direct to the Council service that holds the information you want. If you are not sure which service that is, please send your request to:
FOI Requests
c/o Legal Services
Ipswich Borough Council
Grafton House
15-17 Russell Road
Ipswich, Suffolk
IP1 2DE
or email foi@ipswich.gov.uk
Formal Freedom of Information requests will generally be dealt within 20 working days although this timescale can be extended in certain circumstances. You may request that the information be supplied in any form, however the Council will take into account the cost of supplying the information in this form before complying with your request. In particular, you may ask for a copy of the information sought, or for permission to inspect the records containing the information. Ipswich Borough Council will provide the information in the form requested unless it is unreasonable to do so.
There are a number of exemptions that would prevent us supplying requested information. These include, personal data about other people that if released would breach the Data Protection Act 1998 and commercially sensitive information. The Council can also reserve the right to refuse any repeated or vexatious requests. This may include repeated requests from the same person for the same information, or requests which are intended to disrupt the Council's work. For a full list of exemptions, see the Department for Constitutional Affairs website at www.foi.gov.uk.
The Council will charge the full cost for disbursements such as copying and printing although it will not charge a fee for collating information up to a cost ceiling of £450. A fees notice will be sent to you that will put a hold on the 20 days for responding to your initial request until the fee is paid. If after three months the fee is unpaid, it will be assumed that you no longer require the information.
The Council may only refuse a request for information if it falls under one of the exemptions detailed by the Act. If your request is refused, the reply from the Council will identify which exemption is being applied and will give you details of how to apply for an internal review of the decision to refuse. If after an internal review, the Council still refuses your request, you can then complain to the Information Commissioner, a Crown appointee reporting to parliament, who monitors and enforces compliance with the FOI Act.
Data Protection Act
The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to see data we hold on you (with a few exceptions) and have it corrected if it is not accurate. It gives the Council the responsibility of handling your data securely and of not disclosing it to other people or organisations without legal conditions that protect your privacy being met (for example, we may have to ask your permission).
We collect and hold certain personal data so we can provide you with the services you require. For example, we process data to collect the council tax, collect rent, deliver housing benefit and provide a record of the services provided.
To see the information we hold on you, you must complete and send a 'subject access request' and send it to the address given on the form. There is a flat rate fee of £10 for each subject access request as set down by the Data Protection Act.
If you believe the data held about is incorrect or that there is information that we have not supplied, you must contact us within 21 days of receiving your request. If we don't agree that the information is incorrect, you can appeal using the Council's normal complaints procedure. You can also appeal to the Information Commissioner if we do not correct the data you ask us to.