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Freedom of Information Act

• we must have a publication scheme that sets out the information we make available to the public as a matter of course, which is available under Policy Documents and Legal Services in the Downloadable Library.
• you have the right in principle to ask for any other information held by the Council and, unless it is exempt, we must provide it to you within twenty working days.

• the request should be in writing (this includes email) and include a name and address for us to send our reply; it would help to include a telephone number
• you may ask for help in phrasing your question so that you get the information you really want
• you may say in what format you would like the information (photocopy, email etc) and we will oblige if we reasonably can
• if you know which section holds the information, send your request to them; otherwise, send it to the Freedom of Information Officer, Ryedale House, Malton, North Yorkshire, or email foi@ryedale.gov.uk

• if we need more information about what you want, we will contact you as soon as we can; the twenty working days in which to give you the information will start once we know exactly what you want
• if we do not hold the information, we will, if we can, transfer your request to an authority who does hold it, and tell you what we have done (you may tell us in advance that you do not want us to do this); otherwise, we will let you know that we do not hold the information
• if we hold the information and there is no reason to withhold it, we will send it to you as soon as we can. If there is likely to be a delay for any reason, we will let you know
• if we believe that there is a good reason why the information should not be disclosed (see below for a list of possible reasons), we will let you know as much as we can about how we reached our decision

• we will not normally charge for finding any information; however, the Council reserves the right, where it sees fit, to charge as permitted under regulations issued by the Government
• we will charge the advertised fees for printed publications or for information held on the Local Land Charges Register; otherwise, we will not normally charge for supplying the information; however, the Council reserves the right to charge for photocopying or printing, according to our published list of charges

• Information already available to the public: where the information is available in books or magazines, particularly if someone else publishes them, you will be expected to consult them yourself. Information included in the Council’s publication scheme is available in the format, and sometimes for a fee, as set out in the scheme
• Personal information: information covered by the Data Protection Act is only available to the subject of the information or in the few limited circumstances permitted by law
• ‘Environmental’ information: this includes information about contaminated land, air quality, etc. This will be made available as required by the Environmental Information Regulations. There may be charges for the information
• Confidential information: information subject to the law on confidentiality will only be disclosed as permitted by such law
• Investigations and proceedings: information held at any time for the purpose of investigating possible offences will only be disclosed if it is in the public interest to do so
• Law enforcement: information whose disclosure would prejudice the prevention or detection of crime, the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, the administration of justice, or the collection or assessment of taxes etc, will only be disclosed if it is in the public interest to do so
• Health and safety: where disclosure would prejudice the safety or the physical or mental health of an individual, the information will only be disclosed if it is in the public interest to do so
• Legal professional privilege: legal advice will only be disclosed if it is in the public interest to do so
• Commercial interests: trade secrets, or information whose disclosure would prejudice anyone’s commercial interests, including the Council’s, will only be disclosed if it is in the public interest to do so