Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 has far reaching consequences for all Council services in relation to the provision of information to the public as well as the way in which records are stored. Members of the public are now able to see and question how Councils and other public sector organisations function and how decisions are made. Any individual or organisation can ask for information no matter how old it is, or why it was created.
Please note that if the information requested relates to you as an individual, you should make a request under the Data Protection Act. For further information, please see the section on Data Protection.
Anyone requesting information under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 may also use the Freedom of Information Service to make a request. The Regulations are very similar to the Freedom of Information legislation but relate specifically to information relating to the environment.
The Council’s Publication Scheme shown on the related link sets out the classes of information which the Council publishes or intends to publish, how the information is made available and whether there is a fee for the information.
Inverclyde Licensing Board is the statutory body responsible for the administration of liquor licensing in Inverclyde. The Licensing Board has its own separate Publication Scheme under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act and if you wish to view this click on the related link shown on this page.
The Act requires responses to be issued within 20 working days of receipt of the request and designated officers have been appointed across the various services of the Council to ensure that all requests are dealt with appropriately and within the statutory timescale. There are a number of exemptions which apply, so your request will have to be considered in light of these.
Depending on the amount of work involved in answering your request, a fee may be charged and you would be advised of this in advance. Any costs under £100 are borne in full by the Council.
Requests must be made in writing or in another permanent form such as e-mail and they should include the name of the applicant and a return address for correspondence. To assist the Council in dealing with requests, applicants should describe precisely the information which they require. If information is required in a special format such as large print or in a language other than English, then this should also be specified in the application.
You can make an FOI request in by post or email to the Council's Freedom of Information Office on the contact details shown on this page. Alternatively, click on the link for Freedom of Information Request Forms for both an online and a downloadable form.
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been dealt with, you have the right to request a formal review of this decision through the Council’s internal appeals procedure and then by applying to the Scottish Information Commissioner, an independent public official with responsibility for enforcing the legislation, on the contact details shown on this page.