How can I request information?

If you would like to see information you think we hold, please complete an on-line standard request form to help speed up the process. Alternatively, you can make your request in writing. Your request should contain your name, an address we can contact you at and details of your request.

We will acknowledge your request in writing, stating whether a fee is required to carry out the information request. Normally, we will have 20 working days in which to respond. If we don’t understand your request, we will contact you to clarify what you want.

We will write to you after we have looked into your request, confirming whether we hold the information you have asked for and either let you have the information or explain why we cannot provide it, quoting the relevant exemption under the Act.

If your request is particularly complex, we may ask you to pay a charge before the request is dealt with. If a fee is required, we do not have to comply with your request until the fee has been paid. If you do not pay the fee, we do not have to provide the information.

Where information can be disclosed, we will normally provide you with a copy of the information or a summary, or let you inspect our records. If we do not hold the information requested, we may be able to transfer your request to another public authority that does. It will help us if you can indicate whether you would like us to do this when submitting your request. Also, you should be aware that it may be necessary for us to consult third parties in order to make a decision about whether information can be released.

What can we charge you for?

If you are requesting information contained in our publication scheme, the scheme will give details of whether, and how much, we will charge for providing the information.

If you are requesting information not contained in our publication scheme, we may charge you a fee, as laid down in the Department of Constitutional Affairs’ Regulations.

These Regulations stipulate that requests which will cost less than £450 to answer will be free of charge, although we may charge for the cost of photocopying, postage, or supplying the information in a preferred format. Our normal rates for copying are 2.5p per sheet (A4 single-sided) and 4.2p per sheet (A4 double-sided). Postage is charged at minimum second class postage costs or 2p per sheet (whichever is the greater).

If your request will cost more than this to answer, we can refuse to answer your request, answer it for free, or charge up to and including the full assessed cost of answering. Any charge would represent the costs of establishing whether we hold the information requested and then locating, retrieving and extracting it at the rate of £25 per person per hour, together with the costs of copying, postage and production in any preferred format, calculated as above. However, we may also suggest that you refine your request to bring it within the £450 limit.

If you refuse to pay the fee, we can refuse to supply the information.

Can I ask for the information in a specific format?

If you need the information to be provided in a specific format, for example by e-mail or in large print, we will normally comply, unless this is not reasonably practicable or would involve excessive cost.