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Access to information
About EEDA > Access to information
Access to information
Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000 and came into effect on 1 January 2005. The Act was passed with the aim of fostering a culture of openness, transparency and accountability in Government and as such has implications for the way regional development agencies are required to give access to all types of recorded information. EEDA is committed to comply with the obligations imposed by the Freedom of Information Act.
Information exempt from disclosure
Consultation with third parties
Vexatious or repeated requests
What does the Act provide?
The Act provides a general right of access to information held by public bodies in the course of carrying out their public functions, subject to certain conditions and exemptions (click here for more information on exemptions).
In most cases where information is exempt from disclosure there is a duty on public bodies to disclose where, in the view of the public body, the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in maintaining the exemption in question.
The Act further provides a new office of Information Commissioner and a new Information Tribunal, with wide powers to enforce the rights created.
The Act further imposes a duty on public bodies to adopt a scheme for the publication of information. EEDA's publication scheme can be accessed from the menu on the left of the page or by clicking here.
Requesting information
If the information you wish to see is not available in our publication scheme you can make a request for it under the Freedom of Information Act.
How to make a request for information
Your request needs to be made in writing (this includes e-mail), and must include a valid contact address to enable us to respond to you. This information is required for us to respond to your request and will be held in accordance to the Data Protection Act.
It is helpful if you label your request as being made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
When requesting information, please provide full details of the information you believe that EEDA holds which you would like us to make available to you. Precision and clarity in your description will help us to provide a prompt response and will help to keep your request below the cost limit for compliance (see EEDA's fee policy). If you are able to provide additional information e.g. dates, names of people, other bodies and links to other related sources as appropriate, this will help us to comply with your request.
If you have a preference for how you would like to receive the information - for example, if you would prefer a paper copy or to receive it by email - please make this clear in your request. We will try our best to accommodate your preference. If it is not possible we will explain why, and provide you with an alternative option.
You can make your request by:
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emailing the freedom of information coordinator, Bridgette Hall: foi@eeda.org.uk
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writing to the freedom of information coordinator:
Bridgette Hall
Freedom of information coordinator
The Business Centre
Station Road
Histon
Cambridge
CB24 9LQ
- completing an online form (click here to complete the form).
How will your request be dealt with?
We will endeavour to acknowledge receipt of any request for information as soon as possible after we receive it.
We will respond to your request for information substantively when we have had the opportunity to fully consider its contents. We will do this as soon as practicable, but in any event within the statutory 20 working days, except
- where the information that you have provided is insufficient to enable us to determine if we hold the information you have requested or not, we will contact you to request additional information.
- where the information you have requested is to be provided subject to payment of an appropriate fee (see EEDA's fee policy). In which case we will inform you of the relevant fee and process your request upon receipt of such a fee.
If we do not hold the information that you have requested, we will inform you and, where appropriate, provide you with the details of any third party who we consider might be able to assist you.
More about our response times
The 20 day period commences on the first working day after your request is received. Weekends and Bank Holidays do not count as working days. If we need further information or clarification from you, then we stop counting the working days elapsed until we have received that information from you.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, in cases involving the public interest test we may seek an extension to the 20 day limit, and if this is the case, we would write to notify you accordingly.
Information exempt from disclosure
There are a number of exemptions to the release of information under the Act:
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eight are absolute exemptions - the information cannot be disclosed under any circumstances
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sixteen are known as qualified exemptions - EEDA must decide whether the public interest is better served by the disclosure or the withholding of the information.
If we decide to withhold information from you in accordance with the specific exemptions contained in the Act, we will notify you as soon as practicable (and in any event within the appropriate statutory period). We will explain our reasons for withholding the information citing, amongst other things, the exemption which we are relying upon.
You have a statutory right to appeal if you do not agree with our decision (click here for more information on appeals).
Consultation with third parties
In certain circumstances, we may consult with third parties to assist us in determining whether or not we hold the information you have requested or whether we may disclose the information to you. We are likely to do this where the information you have requested relates to, or has been provided by, third parties and it is likely to affect their interests.
Although we may consult with third parties when determining whether to disclose to you any information that we may hold, any decision to disclose or withhold such information will be taken by us.
Transferring requests
We will not normally transfer your request for information to a different public authority. In circumstances where we do not hold the information that you have requested, but where we have reason to believe that a third party public authority might have this, we will inform you and, where practicable, provide you with relevant contact details.
Vexatious or repeated requests
We have the right to refuse your request if it clearly does not have any serious purpose or value, is designed to cause disruption or annoyance, or can be characterised as obsessive or manifestly unreasonable.
If we have already complied with a request for information made by any person, we are not obliged to comply with an identical or substantially similar request from that person unless a reasonable interval of time has passed.
Copyright
If you want to re-use or reproduce (for example, commercially or for circulation to third parties) the publications or information provided by EEDA from a request under the Freedom of Information Act you will, in most cases, need to apply to the Agency for a copyright licence.
Complaints and appeals
We do hope that you will be satisfied with how we have handled your request for information. However, if you have in any way been disappointed or dissatisfied with our response to your request or the service that you have received during the process, then please do not hesitate to contact Tori McKillen, freedom of information manager.
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by phone: 01223 200810
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by e-mail: torimckillen@eeda.org.uk
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in writing to:
Tori McKillen
Freedom of information manager
The Business Centre
Station Road
Histon
Cambridge
CB24 9LQ
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint/appeal, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints/appeals procedure provided by EEDA.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Alternatively you can visit their website by clicking here.
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