THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT – WHAT IS IT?

The Freedom of Information Act 2000, which came fully into force in January 2005, was introduced to create a culture of openness and make information more accessible to the public. The Act gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right, and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The Southern Education and Library Board as a public authority must meet its obligations under the Act.

RIGHT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION:

From January 2005 anyone has had the right to be told within 20 working days whether information is held by a public authority and a right to have that information supplied upon request, subject to certain discretionary and legal exemptions.

DUTY TO PUBLISH INFORMATION:

Public authorities such as the Southern Education and Library Board have adopted a Publication Scheme to proactively publish information. The SELB Publication Scheme is a guide to the types of information which the Board routinely publishes, the format in which this information is available, and the cost, where appropriate, of providing information.

The SELB intends to publish as much information as possible but some information cannot be released to the public. This will usually be because of concerns about confidentiality, invasion of privacy or commercial sensitivity.

For example, information about an individual person may not be released as this would contravene Data Protection legislation. If you wish to access personal information about yourself, you must do so under the terms of the Data Protection Act.

Information which is commercially sensitive or which may not be in the public interest may also be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Full details of the exemptions from Freedom of Information legislation can be found on the website of the Information Commissioner .

REQUESTING INFORMATION:

Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act must be made in writing and include a contact address. It may be necessary for the SELB to write back in order to clarify a request. Requests made by fax or e-mail are regarded as valid written requests.

A Freedom of Information Request Form is available to download and can be e-mailed to the SELB or printed off and posted, or faxed.

A charge may be made to cover the costs of photocopying and postage where appropriate. Where a large number of records are involved, a search and retrieval fee may also apply. Fees will be charged in accordance with guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner.