Model publication scheme
Freedom of Information Act
This model publication scheme has been prepared and approved by the
Information Commissioner. It may be adopted without modification by any
public authority without further approval and will be valid until further notice.
This publication scheme commits an authority to make information available to
the public as part of its normal business activities. The information covered is
included in the classes of information mentioned below, where this information
is held by the authority. Additional assistance is provided to the definition of
these classes in sector specific guidance manuals issued by the Information
Commissioner.
The scheme commits an authority:
To proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of
routine, information, including environmental information, which is held by
the authority and falls within the classifications below.
To specify the information which is held by the authority and falls within
the classifications below.
To proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of
routine, information in line with the statements contained within this
scheme.
To produce and publish the methods by which the specific information is
made routinely available so that it can be easily identified and accessed by
members of the public.
To review and update on a regular basis the information the authority
makes available under this scheme.
To produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information
which is made proactively available.
To make this publication scheme available to the public.
To publish any dataset held by the authority that has been requested,
and any updated versions it holds, unless the authority is satisfied that
it is not appropriate to do so; to publish the dataset, where reasonably
practicable, in an electronic form that is capable of re-use; and, if any
information in the dataset is a relevant copyright work and the public
authority is the only owner, to make the information available for re-use
under the terms of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations
2015, if they apply, and otherwise under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act section 19.
Written requests
Information held by a public authority that is not published under this scheme
can be requested in writing, when its provision will be considered in in
accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
