Freedom of Information

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About Access to Information

As of the 1 January 2005 there are three key areas of legislation which gives you specific rights of access to information held by the Council. The Council welcomes enquiries about its activities and publishes a great deal of information.

Information Type
The three key areas are Freedom of Information (FOI),  Data Protection and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). The table below gives information about all of these areas.

Information regime	About	Legislation governing Information regime	Council Guidance	Charges
Freedom of Information	General information on how the Council operates and carries out its activities	Freedom of Information 2000	Freedom of Information Act, information sheet	The Council regularly reviews the Fees Regulations In broad terms the following conditions apply: Website: Free unless otherwise specified Email: Free of charge unless otherwise specified Material printed at Libraries: A charge will be made to cover the cost of printing Purchasable Publications: As per cover
Data Protection	Personal information held by the Council relating to you, the data subject	Data Protection Act 1998	Access to Personal Data We May Hold About You (Data Protection) and Data Protection information sheet	Standard Charge £10 per data subject
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)	Environmental information held by the Council	Environmental Information Regulations 2004	Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) Information Sheet	The Council is allowed to charge a 'reasonable amount' for supplying information to a requestor

Finding Information

The Council already makes available a large amount of information through this website, through libraries and helpdesks. The information that you are looking for may already be available through these sources and therefore already in the public domain. If the information is already public, the Council is not obliged to deal with your request under the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental Information Regulations.

You can use our Search facility to find documents published on the website or visit our Finding FOI information page.

Before making a request for information under FOI and EIR

Before making any request to the Council for information, please check the sources listed above and search the website.

Making a request under FOI and EIR

If you can’t find what you are looking for you can submit a request in the following ways:

By Post:
The Royal Borough of Kingston-upon Thames
High Street
Kingston-upon-Thames
KT1 1EU

Online: Find the online request form at the bottom of this page

Fax: : 020 8547 5034

Telephone (for EIR): 020 8547 5757

Your request must include:

• your name
• your addess
• a description of the information you wish to obtain
• any preferences for the format for receiving the information

Timescales

The Council will respond to your request for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations within 20 days of the request being received.

If you request personal information under the Data Protection Act, the timescale is 40 days.

Advice and Assistance

The Council has a duty to provide advice and assistance to applicants. If the Council does not hold the information requested, we will clarify the request or inform you of what is available on the subject matter through the Publication Scheme.

Exemptions/Exceptions

Sometimes there will be exemptions under FOI or exceptions under EIR which will prevent the Council from disclosing the information in its entirety or in part.

Other Public Authorities/Third Parties

Sometimes information requested will not be held by the Council but by another Public Authority or a third party. The Council has the legal right to transfer requests to the relevant Authority or gain consent of the third party to release the information.

Appeals

If you are unhappy with the way in which the Council has dealt with your request under FOI, EIR or the Data Protection Act, use the Council’s Complaint Procedures (you will find a link at the bottom of this page)

You have the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner, once the Council's Complaints procedure is completed.  

Further information

If you need further information, please contact us:
Records Manager and Data Protection Officer
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Guildhall
Kingston-upon-Thames
KT1 1EU

Telephone: 020 8547 5757
Email: foi@rbk.kingston.gov.uk