Freedom of Information

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000. It gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. A ‘public authority’ is defined in FOIA, and includes Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO’s) such as Blyth Valley Housing.

Any person wishing to exercise this right can do so from the 1^st January 2005 by making a written request. Any person making such a request must be informed whether the public authority holds that information and, subject to exemptions supplied with that information.

However the Act provides another mechanism for gaining access to information. Every public authority is required to adopt and maintain a publication scheme. A publication scheme is a guide detailing types of information which are to be made routinely available. This guide should provide the public with a simpler means of obtaining information and reduce the need for public authorities to respond to requests made under the Act

A publication scheme must set out the classes of information contained within the scheme, the manner in which the information is intended to be published, and whether or not a charge will be made for the information. The purpose of a scheme is to ensure a significant amount of information is easily and routinely available. Schemes are intended to encourage organisations to publish more information proactively and to develop a greater culture of openness.

Once a public authority has prepared a scheme and approval for the scheme has been given by the Information Commissioner, the scheme is adopted by the public authority. On adopting a publication scheme the public authority is committed to making the information contained within the scheme routinely accessible, and to review the scheme periodically.

Our Commitment

Blyth Valley Housing is committed to being open and to provide honest information to the general public.

One of our core objectives is to:-

“Develop open and honest internal and external communications that provide people with good access and information, and provide opportunities to feedback their views.”

The Publication Scheme

You can view a copy of our draft Publication Scheme here.

The officer responsible for the publication scheme is Ray Boycott, Managing Director. You can contact him on 01670 542130 or e-mail him at rboycott@blythvalley.gov.uk

The officer responsible for maintaining the scheme on a day to day basis is Allan. Hepple, Director of Housing Management. You can telephone him on 01670 542091 or e-mail him at ahepple@blythvalley.gov.uk

Under section 19(1c) of the Act, we must review the scheme regularly. We plan to do this bi-annually and will add classes as and when necessary.

We plan to make information available via our website where possible.  Any information that is available electronically will be available from our website.

Hard copies will be available upon request.

Asking for information

Information for all classes of information can be made by contacting Mr A.Hepple Details of how to contact him are contained in section 6 of this scheme.

You may be required to pay a fee for the information you require depending on the information requested.

You will be advised at the time of your request if a charge will be made and how much it will cost you.

When requesting information please include the following details:

• Your name and address
• The information or documents you would like to access
• The format you would like the information to be sent – for example, printed leaflet, via email, Braille, large print and certain other languages.

We must supply you with the information you have asked for within twenty working days of receiving your request. We will always try to meet your request as quickly as possible and expect to satisfy most requests for scheme information within ten working days.

The only exception is where you have to pay for the information. If you do have to pay, our targets remain the same but we aim to provide you with the requested information in ten days from when you pay us, instead of when we receive your request.