East Dunbartonshire Council Guide to the Publication Scheme Freedom of Information/ Data Protection Officer May 2013 1. Guide to the Publication Scheme The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides individuals with a right of access to all recorded information held by Scotland’s public authorities. Anyone can use this right, and information can only be withheld where the Freedom of Information legislation expressly permits it. Section 23 of FOISA requires that all Scottish public authorities maintain a publication scheme. A publication scheme sets out the types of information that a public authority routinely makes available. Publication schemes are high level, strategic documents in which a public authority commits to making published information reasonably available to the general public. This ensures that published information held by authorities is open, accountable and transparent at all times. East Dunbartonshire Council has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2013, produced by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Scheme has approval until the 31 st of May 2017. In addition to adopting the model scheme, the Council has produced this guide. The purpose of our guide is to: • allow you to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class • state what charges may be applied • explain how to find the information easily • provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with access to the information • explain how to request information that has not been published. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs) provide a separate right of access to environmental information that we hold. The publication scheme also contains details of the environmental information that we routinely make available. Where information is not published under the scheme, you can request it from us under Freedom of Information or, in the case of environmental information, the Environmental Information Regulations. 2. Guide to East Dunbartonshire With a population of around 105,000 East Dunbartonshire is in the mid-range of Scottish local authorities in terms of population and covers 77 square miles. It comprises a mixture of urban and rural areas that includes the settlements of Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, Kirkintilloch, Lennoxtown, Lenzie, Milngavie, Milton of Campsie, Torrance and Twechar. The 2011 household estimates identifies the number of households in East Dunbartonshire as 43,171. This is a 0.4% increase from the 2010 figure of 43,010, compared to a 0.5% increase in Scotland as a whole. Since 2003/04 the average house price in East Dunbartonshire has increased steadily and remains above the Scottish average as shown in the graph below. Recent figures show that East Dunbartonshire now has the most expensive house prices in Scotland. Between October and December 2012, the average property in the area cost £215,300, up 7% compared to the same period in 2011. East Dunbartonshire has higher levels of employment than the Scottish average with 79.1% of the working age population classed as economically active, higher than the Scottish average of 77.1%. Unemployment is also lower than average with 2.5% of the working age population claiming Job Seekers Allowance, 1.6% below the national average of 4.1% and only 8% of the population are classed as employment deprived against a national average of 12%. East Dunbartonshire has been recognised as one of the best areas to live in Scotland based on residents’ health, life expectancy, employment, school performance and climate. The area recently took second place in the Bank of Scotland annual quality of life survey. 3. East Dunbartonshire Council The Council delivers a wide range of functions and services to the community, many through statutory obligations. The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 places a legal duty on councils to lead community planning in their area, and also provides them with the statutory power to advance wellbeing – in other words, Councils may undertake and/or support any activity in the interests of their local community, subject to certain limiting provisions. These services include: Building Standards Business Enterprise Community Learning & Development Community Safety Cultural Services Education Environmental Services Housing Information Services Legal Services & Licensing Planning Registration Roads & Transport Services for Children & Young People Social Work Decision Making Structure There are 8 Council wards in East Dunbartonshire, each returning three members, giving a total of 24 Councillors, representing the following parties; Scottish Labour Party - 9 Members Scottish National Party (SNP) - 8 Members Scottish Liberal Democrats - 3 Members Scottish Conservatives - 2 Members Independents - 2 Members Operational Structure The Council Services are delivered by six Directorates outlined below. Performance Reporting The Council aims to achieve a significant, measurable and demonstrable improvement in the quality of life of its citizens by delivering or facilitating excellent, customer-focussed services. The Council is committed to providing members of the public with information on its performance to enable it to determine how well their Council is performing. In 2008, the Council signed up to its first Single Outcome Agreement with the Scottish Government. This agreement, which will be refreshed and published annually, explicitly sets out the outcomes which the Council is seeking to achieve with its community planning partners. The Council has to make an annual report to the Government on its progress towards these outcomes. Associated Organisations The following bodies work alongside the Council in delivering Services to the people of East Dunbartonshire Police Scotland http://www.scotland.police.uk/ Strathclyde Fire Board http://www.strathclydefire.org/ Strathclyde Partnership for Transport http://www.spt.co.uk/ Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute Valuation Joint Board http://www.dab-vjb.gov.uk/ East Dunbartonshire Licensing Board http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/content/law_and_licensing/licences_permits _permissions.aspx inspirED Education (East Dunbartonshire Ltd.) http://inspireducation.com/EDWeb/ East Dunbartonshire Enterprise Trust Limited. http://www.edet.org.uk/ East Dunbartonshire Development Company Ltd. http://www.eastdundevco.co.uk/ Scotland Excel http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk/ Lennoxtown Initiative http://www.lennoxtowninitiative.co.uk/ 4. ACCESSING INFORMATION UNDER THE SCHEME Information available under the model publication scheme will normally be available through the routes described below. Online: Most information covered by the publication scheme is available to download from our website. By email: If the information you seek is in the model publication scheme but is not available on our website, we will usually be able to send the information to you by email. When requesting information from us, please provide a telephone number so that we can contact you to clarify details, if necessary. By phone: Information under the scheme can also be requested from us over the telephone. Please call East Dunbartonshire’s FOI Officer on 0141-578 8057 to request information available under this scheme. By post: All information under the scheme will normally be available in paper copy form. Please address your request to: Freedom of Information Officer, East Dunbartonshire Council, Broomhill, Kirkintilloch G66 1TF When writing to us to request information, please include your name and address, full details of the information or documents you would like to receive, and any fee applicable. Please also include a telephone number so we can contact you to clarify any details, if necessary. Personal visits: In limited cases, you may be asked to make an appointment to view the information. Advice and assistance: If you have any difficulty identifying the information you want to access, then please contact East Dunbartonshire’s Freedom of Information Officer (0141- 578 8057), who will be happy to help or email [email protected] . 5. INFORMATION THAT WE MAY NOT PROVIDE All information covered by the publication scheme can either be accessed through our website, or will be provided promptly following receipt of your request. However, sometimes we may not be able to provide certain information which is described in the scheme. This could be for two reasons:- We do not have it or publish it The model publication scheme class structure covers every possible type of information a council might publish. Under law, a model has to be adopted in its entirety. Information is exempt from disclosure Our aim in maintaining the publication scheme is to be as open as possible. You should note, however, that there may be circumstances where information will be withheld from one of the classes of information listed in the scheme. This may be an entire document, or just parts of a document (for example, minutes of meetings might be published, but with personal information ‘blacked out’). Information will only be withheld, however, where FOISA (or, in the case of environmental information, the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004) expressly permits it. Information may be withheld, for example, where its disclosure would breach the law of confidentiality, harm an organisation’s commercial interests, or endanger the protection of the environment. Information may also be withheld if it is someone’s personal information