Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Requests

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (which came fully into force on 1 January 2005), members of the public have a legal right to request access to information held by public authorities, including Parish Councils.

The Parish Council is committed to openness and transparency and will respond to requests for information in accordance with the requirements of the legislation. However, certain requests may be refused where exemptions or exceptions apply. In such cases, applicants have the right to request an internal review and, if necessary, may refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

To promote transparency and provide insight into the volume and nature of requests received, the Parish Council publishes a summary log of Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests received over the past five years. Routine or general enquiries are not included. Requests may be recorded either individually or as a series of questions within a single submission, reflecting the level of officer time required to respond.

The Parish Council also maintains a Publication Scheme, which sets out the information that is routinely made available to the public. Applicants are encouraged to consult the website before submitting a request, as where information is already publicly available, the Council is only required to provide a reference to its location.