Amendments to the Betley Balterly and Wrinehill Parish Council Publication Scheme

 

When I first became a Parish Councillor in 2022 the first thing noted was that this council had few if any policies to work to.  This gave the impression it was working on a whim rather than to agreed and statutory rules.

It was a step in the right direction when a list of policies for adoption were placed on the Agenda.  However, many of these were borrowed ‘model’ or ‘standard’ policies.  It was suggested that these at least be tailored to this PC.  Unfortunately,  This was not taken with a good grace, and neither was it clear how they could and should be applied.

One of the most important policies relates to freedom of information and its accessibility to the public.

The last political regime (Conservative) softened some of the rules making information less accessible, namely by suggesting payment.  However this was left to the discretion of any council, which could price the request out of reach.  Hopefully only an unscrupulous Council/Clerk would do this since public bodies are here to serve the public not to dominate or to suppress information.

It needs to be made clear what constitutes ‘vexatious’ and/or ‘excessive’ requests since these terms appear to be being used with alacrity, and without an understanding of what would constitute either.  This was made clear in the Code of Conduct complaints debacle.      

It was felt that each policy needed a preamble to describe for residents what the policy was meant to do/achieve, and how it might serve them.

The Freedom of Information Act is/was  clear with regard to purpose:

 The main principle behind freedom of information legislation is that people have a right to know about the activities of public authorities, unless there is a good reason for them not to.

• an applicant (requester) does not need to give a reason for wanting the information. On the contrary, you must justify refusing them information;
• all requests for information must be treated equally, except under some circumstances relating to vexatious requests and personal data

The Act covers all recorded information held by a public authority. It is not limited to official documents and it covers, for example, drafts, emails, notes, recordings of telephone conversations and CCTV recordings. Nor is it limited to information you create, so it also covers, for example, letters you receive from members of the public

The Act includes some specific requirements to do with datasets. For these purposes, a dataset is collection of factual, raw data that you gather as part of providing services and delivering your functions as a public authority, and that you hold in electronic form. Your duties in relation to datasets are explained elsewhere in this Guide, where they are relevant.

Anyone can make a freedom of information request – they do not have to be UK citizens, or resident in the UK. Freedom of information requests can also be made by organisations, for example a newspaper, a campaign group, or a company. Employees of a public authority can make requests to their own employer, although good internal communications and staff relations will normally avoid the need for this.

Anyone can make a request for information, regardless of who they are or where they live. The requester need not explain why they want the information or justify their request.

Do not give the requester the impression that you are more or less likely to withhold the information if they do (or do not) explain the reasons for their request. You cannot insist they reveal the motive for it.

Produce a schedule of fees which must be agreed before the information processed.

Classes of information should be incorporated into the policy. Ie what the council is and what it does

What is spent and how it is spent.

What the PC priorities are and how it is performing

How decisions are made

Policies and procedures of the PC

Lists and registers held

The services the PC offers to residents.

(needs to be updated)

It is recommended that Reports should be posted on the PC website for public access since they should form part of any discussion/decision.  This can be achieved if they are kept as appendices to the Minutes and kept with them for future reference.  For easy access, reports can be indexed and the index posted on the website.

(This is important with regard to policies presented to and discussed at meetings.   At the moment it is unclear where these go or where they might be stored for future reference.  With technology these are easily uploaded and paper need not be involved.  This used to be where the expense and physical space for storage were important considerations. Paper can quickly degrade and disintegrate if not stored under the correct atmospheric conditions.)