Publication scheme overview
Last Updated: 3 April 2024
Under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000, all public authorities are required to:
- adopt and maintain a publication scheme
- publish information in accordance with the scheme
The scheme commits us to:
- proactively publish, or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information which is held by the council
- specify the information which is held by the council and falls within the seven classes
- provide guidance on how the specified information can be identified and accessed
- review and update the specified information
- produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information
Our scheme:
The seven classes of information:
- Who we are and what we do
- What we spend and how we spend it
- What our priorities are and how we are doing
- How we make decisions
- Our policies and procedures
- Lists and registers
- The services we offer
User rights
- the scheme does not affect the rights that the public have to inspect documents and other information held by the Council under various statutory provisions
- personal data will continue to be dealt with under the Data Protection Act and will not be made available under the Freedom of Information Act
- the scheme does not prevent members of the public requesting to see any information held by the Council. In the case of each such request, a determination will be made by the scheme contact officer having regard to the public interest and whether the information in question is exempt from publication under the Freedom of Information Act or other existing legislation.
The Freedom of Information Publication Scheme will tell you:
- the type of information we will publish
- if you have to pay for the information
- information will normally be put on our website
- who to contact if you need it in another format
- if you need an interpreter, we can arrange this. We can also produce letters and reports in large print, in Braille or on tape.
Please note: In some cases information may only be available if you come to South Lakeland House, Kendal.
Complaints about the Freedom of Information Scheme: Internal Review
Requesting information from the scheme
- where information is available on our website, a link will direct you to it
- there is no charge for making requests to ascertain whether information under a particular class is available
- however there may be a charge for providing a copy of the relevant publication:
- where a charge applies, you will be notified of the amount
- this must be paid prior to the copy of the publication being sent to you
- information supplied to the public is intended for use by the individual concerned
- the Council owns the copyright in its information and any information supplied may not be used for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of the Council
- anyone who wishes to use information for commercial purposes should email the FOI team to obtain details of the policy that the Council has adopted for reproduction of information. Contact details are listed at the bottom of the page
- certain publications can be made available in other languages or in large print or on audiotape. Requests should be made by calling our contact centre or emailing our customer services team
- requests to ascertain whether information is held by the council, that isn't contained within the website or this publication scheme, should be made via a Freedom of Information request
- personal information requests under the Data Protection Act 2018, also known as subject access requests, can also be made. Full details are available in our Data Protection section
The information will generally not include
- information the disclosure of which is prevented by law, or exempt under the Freedom of Information Act, or is otherwise properly considered to be protected from disclosure
- information in draft form
- information that is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that have been placed in archive storage, or is difficult to access for similar reasons
Charges for information
Unless a statutory fee applies, most information will be provided free of charge. For instance, information available on this website can be downloaded free of charge.
However, on some occasions it is necessary to charge a fee. Freedom of Information Act legislation allows a charge to be made for disbursements i.e. photocopying, postage, etc. The council will not comply with a request where it will exceed the appropriate limit set out by The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.