The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 came into force on 01 January 2005.  The Act gives the right to anyone, anywhere in the world, to request copies of any recorded information from a public authority including South Yorkshire Police.

Individuals already have the right of access to information about themselves under the Data Protection Act 1998.  The Freedom of Information Act will extend this right to allow the public to request access to all other types of recorded information held.

The FOIA places two distinct responsibilities on public authorities:

1. The duty to confirm or deny whether the requested information exists; and
2. The duty to communicate the requested information.

South Yorkshire Police will endeavour to comply with all requests for copies of recorded information made under the Freedom of Information Act, within the stipulated 20 working days, subject to exemptions applying under the Act.

Additionally, public authorities have an obligation under the FOIA to routinely publish information on a Publication Scheme (Section 19 FOIA).  The purpose of the scheme is to ensure a significant amount of information is available, without the need for a specific request.  Schemes are intended to encourage organisations to publish more information pro-actively and to develop a greater culture of openness.

To make a request for copies of information about yourself, please click the 'Making a request ' tab down the left hand side & then 'Subject Access'.

SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE PUBLICATION SCHEME PUBLIC GUIDE

To be valid under the Freedom of Information Act, requests:
• Must be made in writing;
• Must clearly describe the information being sought;
• Can be made from anywhere in the world;
• Can be made by an individual or an organisation;
• Can be made by letter, fax or email;
• Must be legible; and
• Must contain the name of the applicant and a return address.

To be valid under the Freedom of Information Act, requests do not:
• Have to be written on a special form;
• Need to mention the Act; or
• Need to refer to ‘Freedom of Information’ in any way.

FEES REGULATIONS:-

S12 of the FOIA provides an exemption from a public authority’s obligation to comply with a request for information where the cost of compliance is estimated to exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit is the key concept concerning fees.  The Fees Regulations state that this cost limit is £450 in the case of the Police Service.  A public authority must still confirm or deny whether it holds the information requested unless the cost of this alone would exceed the appropriate limit.

THE APPROPRIATE LIMIT:-

There are two distinct areas in relation to fees contained within the legislation.
The first area is relevant to the initial processing of a request when an authority, when estimating the time taken, can take into account the following four items:
• Determining if the information is held;
• Locating the information;
• Retrieving the information; and
• Extracting the information to be disclosed from the other information

CALCULATING COSTS:-

An authority can take into account the costs attributable to the time that persons (both the authority’s staff and external contractors) are expected to spend on these activities.  Such costs are calculated at £25 per hour per person for all authorities regardless of the actual cost or rate of pay, which means that the limit will be exceeded if these activities exceed 24 hours for central government, legislative bodies and the armed forces, and 18 hours for all other authorities.

CHARGEABLE ITEMS:-

There are two types of fees that can be charged:
• A fee to cover the marginal costs of the request – the cost of finding, sorting, editing or redacting. Fees can only be charged in such situations when the marginal cost exceeds the appropriate limit, as defined in the fees regulations.
• A fee to cover the cost of disbursements, such as printing, photocopying or postage.

TIME FOR COMPLIANCE:-

The time limit in which forces have to respond to requests is very clearly defined in the legislation and ICO guidance. Requests must be answered as soon as practicable, and in any case within 20 working days. It is important to remember that day ‘1’ will be the day after receipt.

Reasonable interval (repeated request) 60 working days
Clarification if not received, request can be closed after 60 working days
Internal review 20 working days
PIT extension (qualified exemptions) 20 working days

INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 will be enforced by the Information Commissioner (the "Commissioner").  The Information Commissioners Office regulate both the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.