About the scheme
This is an introduction to our publication scheme and we welcome your feedback.
How the Council Makes Information Available
Information listed in the scheme will be made available in a number of ways. Note that information is not necessarily made available in all these ways. We aim to dispatch information as soon as possible after it is requested.
- Website – when information is available on the Derbyshire County Council or another website, the web address will be given and a link provided.
- By post – information will be forwarded on request, following receipt of any fee applicable (see below). We do not provide print-outs of other people’s websites. Contact the Call Derbyshire contact centre on 08 456 058 058 and information will be posted to you.
- By email – material not on the website will be made available via email. Information will be sent on request, free of charge. Information is available from the Call Derbyshire contact centre: contact.centre@derbyshire.gov.uk. Upon receipt of the first request for particular information to be sent by email, we will consider whether the material should, in future, be made available using the Derbyshire County Council website. Where we decide not to make material available over the website, we will continue to provide it by email. The entry in the scheme will be modified accordingly.
- Libraries – some information is made available through public libraries. The opening hours of the libraries are available by telephoning 08 456 058 058.
Charges
Most information in the scheme is available free but for some information a charge may be levied. The charge will vary according to how information is made available, which is specified for each class within the scheme. Charges will apply as follows:
- Website – free of charge unless otherwise specified
- Email – free of charge unless otherwise specified.
- Copies by post – for documents available over the Derbyshire County Council website, a single print-out of that document will be provided free of charge on request (Note: this does not apply to databases). Charges will apply for multiple copies. Postage and copying charges may apply with requests for large amounts of printed information. Information which is only available in hard copy is supplied free of charge, unless a request for a large volume of information is received. The council does not provide print-outs of other people’s websites.
- Libraries – information can be viewed free of charge, photocopies can be made for 10p per copy.
- Information available for inspection – some information is only available for inspection, and charges will be made for copies.
Existing charges for information, in books or publications sold by the Council remain unaffected.
Accessibility
The council will endeavour to make information as widely accessible as possible. Information can be provided in large print, Braille or on audio tape on request. For information in languages other than English, please contact the council for further details.
Copyright and the council’s Publication Scheme
Information available through this scheme is protected by copyright. The information contained in copyright protected material owned by the council (except the council’s logo) may be copied, distributed or published free of charge in any format or medium, but only if it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. If you copy any of the copyright information available through this scheme, or distribute it to others or re-publish it, you must identify the source of the material and acknowledge its copyright status.
This applies only to information in which the council owns the copyright. For any other material, you must seek authorisation from the copyright holders concerned.
Access to Information in Local Government
Derbyshire County Council promotes open government for public scrutiny and participation. Access to information is encouraged. There is legislation affecting local authorities giving access to information. The Local Government Act 1972 includes Access to Information provisions. For example, there are detailed rules about making papers for meetings (agenda, minutes and reports) available to the press and public. Recently, the period of advance notice of these papers has been extended from three clear days to five clear days. The rules were also extended to apply to Cabinet and Cabinet Members meetings when these were introduced under new executive arrangements in 2001.
Specific legal rights to information are set out in other rules, for example,
- Regulation 26 of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) Regulations 1991 provides for inspection of records of payments to Members, publication of the Members’ Allowances Scheme, and an annual list of payments made to Members.
- Section 14 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 provides for electors to be able to inspect the Council’s statement of accounts and auditor’s reports.
Access to Personal Information Under the Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act 1998 provides living individuals with the right of access to personal information held about them. The right applies to all council information held in computerised form and also to non-computerised information held in filing systems structured so that specific information about particular individuals can be retrieved readily. The rights extend also to those archives that meet these criteria. However, the right is subject to exemptions which will affect whether information is provided and requests will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
Please send requests for access to information under the Data Protection Act “(Data Subject Access Requests)” to the Director of Corporate Resources (see contact points below). Please provide as much detail as possible to help us find the information.
Note that the Data Protection Act does not give third parties rights of access to personal information for research purposes.
Environmental Information
If the information you want relates to the state of the environment, you can submit a request for information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Please provide as much detail as possible to help us identify the information you are looking for.
Some environmental information is made available through our Publication Scheme and will be made available as set out above under “How we make information available, and what charges may apply”. Where information is not included in the scheme, it will be made available according to the fees structure set out in the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
If we refuse to supply all or part of the information you have asked for, we will write to you explaining why. The reasons will be based on the exceptions in the regulations.
The Environmental Information Regulations can be purchased from HMSO, or can be read free of charge on the HMSO website.
Complaints and Appeals
If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with a request, you should complain to us directly, using the council’s complaints procedure. Your initial complaint should be sent to:
Access to Information Officer
Legal Services
County Hall
Matlock
DE4 3AG
The Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the operation of the Publication Scheme. In the case of a failure to deliver information through the Scheme, you may also appeal directly to the Information Commissioner at any time.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted by telephone on 01625 545745, by fax on 01625 524 510, by email at data@dataprotection.gov.uk, or by post to:
Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Personnel
Overall responsibility for the publication scheme resides with the County Secretary, David Tysoe. Day-to-day running of the Publication Scheme is undertaken by the Access to Information Officer, who can be contacted by email at access2info@derbyshire.gov.uk, or via the main County Hall switchboard on 01629 580000 ext 7373.
You can make requests for information over the telephone by calling the Call Derbyshire contact centre. When making telephone requests, please be sure to provide full contact details, including a telephone number so that we can clarify the details of your request, if necessary.
Availability
Unless otherwise stated, all classes refer to the current version of any item listed in the publication scheme. Previous versions may be made available on request, if they have been retained. Unless the class explicitly includes one, no draft version of any item is to published under any of the classes of information. Information produced on an annual or regular basis is only available for previous years where stated.
