Agenda item

To present a draft updated Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulations Policy for the Council and seek feedback from the Committee (report of the Assistant Director – Governance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director - Governance (Monitoring Officer) which asked the Policy Development Panel to provide feedback on the draft updated Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Policy.

The Scrutiny and Policy Officer introduced the report and outlined the following main points:

• The FOI policies of South Holland District Council (SHDC) and East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) had been reviewed and a single updated policy would be aligned across all three authorities of the partnership;
• The policy incorporated both FOI and EIR for the first time due to similarities of the processing of information requests under both policies;
• The draft FOI and EIR Policy was detailed at Appendix A;
• The policy document contained live weblinks to the latest version of the policy on the council website. This approach negated the need to republish a new policy document each time legislation or processes were amended;
• Adoption of the policy ensured that the partnership complied with all statutory requirements; and
• During scrutiny of the policy at Boston Borough Council (BBC), it was suggested that the charging formula for requested information be clarified. Most requests were free of charge however a charge would only be incurred if the work involved to provide the response was calculated at £450 or more. Suggested wording included the insertion of links to relevant pages of the website of the Information Commissioners Office.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members referred to the approach of including links to legislative information within the document (rather than producing a revised policy document at each change) and sought reassurance that officers and relevant members would respond to legislative changes.
  • The Scrutiny and Policy Officer responded that:
    • The use of links ensured that the most current version of legislation was available; and
    • The Information Governance Manager was responsible for the Council’s compliance to the legislation – this was a statutory role.

• Members asked which agencies frequently made FOI requests:
  • The Scrutiny and Policy Officer responded that:
    • Since April 2023, SHDC had received 285 FOI requests;
    • The following SHDC departments received the most FOI requests: Revenue and Benefits, Housing, Planning, and Licensing.
    • FOI requests were made by both individuals and organisations;
    • When responding, the council ensured that sensitive personal information was redacted;
    • The majority of FOI request were free of charge as they fell below the charging threshold; and
    • The Publication Scheme on the SHDC website would be updated to include a ‘regularly requested information’ section which aimed to achieve transparency and provide information.

• Members debated the benefit and drawback of including a link within the policy to ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ (FAQs). FAQs were accessible via the ‘Publication Scheme’ link which had been included at page 3 of the policy, however some members felt this was unclear. Other members stated that the purpose of a policy document was to outline the purpose and delivery of the policy and that inclusion of links within a policy document posed a risk should the links change.
  • The Scrutiny and Policy Officer responded that:
    • The Publication Scheme webpage covered many areas and included further links to information likely to be requested;
    • The Publication Scheme webpage was being updated and could include additional information; and
    • The wording within the policy would be reviewed for clarity in respect of FAQs.

AGREED:

a)    That after consideration by the Policy Development Panel, the draft FOI/EIR Policy be recommended to Cabinet for approval; and

b)    That the comments of the Policy Development Panel be noted.