FOI Information
All you need to know about Freedom of Information:
Introduction to
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Introduction to
the Cafcass Publication Scheme
Responsibility for the Cafcass
Publication Scheme
Copyright
Is there a fee to access
information?
In what format is information
available?
Requests for personal information:
The Data Protection Act 1998
Requests for non-personal
information: The Freedom of Information Act 2000
Exemptions for publishing information
under Freedom of Information
Process for FOI complaint
Your Feedback
Key documents/pages:
Cafcass Freedom
of Information Policy
Cafcass
Information Charter
Cafcass Freedom of
Information disclosure log
SAR
leaflet
Introduction to Freedom of
Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act 2000 (the Act) received royal assent on 30 November 2000.
It establishes 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. The Act applies to public authorities, including
Government Departments and Non Departmental Public Bodies, such as
Cafcass. Under the Act you are entitled to make a request for
information to Cafcass (unless the information falls under one of
the specific exemptions in the Act):
(a) to be informed in writing by Cafcass whether it holds
information of the description specified in your request, (unless
an exemption applies) and
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to
you. The Act provides for a time limit for dealing with a request
for information - that is, within 20 working days.
The Act also provides for
an appeal mechanism whereby you may apply to the Information
Commissioner for a decision as to whether we dealt with a specified
request in accordance with the Act.
Full access rights under the Freedom of Information Act (including
appeal provisions) came in force on 1 January 2005. More
information about the Freedom of Information Act is set in Cafcass'
Freedom of
Information Policy
Introduction to the Cafcass Publication Scheme
Under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000, all public authorities have been and are obliged to adopt
and maintain a Publication Scheme specifying:
- the classes of
information that it publishes or intends to publish;
- the manner in which the information is or is
intended to be published; and
- whether the material is or is intended to be made available
to the public free of charge or on payment.
The purpose of the Publication Scheme is to ensure that a large
amount of information is readily available to members of the
public, i.e. without the need for specific consideration under the
Freedom of Information Act, and to inform the public of the extent
of material that is available.
By readily available we mean that the information is available on
Cafcass' website, may be purchased from Her Majesty's Stationery
Office (HMSO), may be obtained from a public library or will be
supplied immediately on receipt of a letter or telephone call to
Cafcass.
We will aim to provide you with a response to any request for
information under the Scheme within 20 working days unless an
exemption applies or the request entails significant search and
collation.
Responsibility for the Cafcass Publication Scheme
The person responsible for
maintaining the Publication Scheme on a daily basis is the Cafcass
Freedom of Information Officer responsible for
Internet/Intranet maintenance.
Contact
details:
Email: governance@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk
Postal
address:
Attn: FOI Administrator
Cafcass National
Office
6th Floor. Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Tel: 0844 353 3350
Copyright
The copyright in the material
listed in this Publication Scheme is owned by Cafcass, unless
otherwise stated. Copyright protected material cannot be reproduced
and used in a manner that would infringe copyright, for example, by
making multiple copies and publishing and issuing these copies to
the public. However, brief extracts of the material may be
reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes
of research, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.
Details of the arrangements for reusing Cafcass material can be
obtained by contacting us at either the above address.
Some of the material in this Scheme is subject to Crown copyright.
Copyright protection in certain Crown copyright material has been
waived and can be reproduced freely. Categories of material where
Crown copyright protection has been waived include: government
press notices, legislation, and explanatory notes on the
legislation, ministerial speeches, consultation documents,
documents featured on official websites (except where expressly
indicated otherwise), headline statistics and unpublished public
records.
Is there a fee to access information?
Our aim is to make
information requested under the Scheme available free of charge via
either electronic means or by hardcopy. Information requested via
our website is free of charge (i.e. there is no charge by us,
although the user would of course have to meet any charges by their
Internet service provider, personal printing costs, etc). Cafcass
reserves the right not to process applications that cost £450 and
more in keeping with central government provisions. This does not
impact on the information listed on the Scheme.
In what format is information available?
Information will be
available initially in both hard copy and electronically.
You can outline your specific request either in writing or by
personal application to:
Attn: FOI Administrator
Email: governance@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk
Cafcass National Office
6th Floor. Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Tel: 0844 353 3350
Fax 0844 353 3351
Requests for non-personal information: Freedom of Information
Act 2000
If the information you
require is not in the Publication Scheme you may, make a request
for this information under Freedom of Information Act 2000. You may
contact us by writing to Cafcass at the above address, giving your
name, address, the information/documents you would like to access
and the method of access (e.g. hardcopy, e-mail etc.)
The target for response to simple requests under the Act is 20
working days from the date of receipt. However, the target may need
to be extended when significant search or collation of material is
required. There is provision for appeal should your application be
refused by Cafcass. A Senior Officer who was not party to the
original decision on whether to release the information will
conduct the internal review. If you are not satisfied with the
outcome of this appeal you can write to the Information Commisioner
(http://www.ico.gov.uk/).
Requests for personal information: The Data Protection Act
1998
You have a statutory right
of access (certain exemptions apply) to personal data about
yourself under the Data Protection Act 1998. The right of access
here is to personal data held on computer or on structured manual
files and you are entitled to be informed whether any personal data
concerning yourself is being held by the "data controller" i.e.,
Cafcass, and, if so:
· to be given a description of the data in question
· to be told for what purposes the data are processed
· to be told of the recipients or classes of recipients to whom the
data are or may be disclosed.
You are also entitled to be given a copy of the information with
any unintelligible terms explained and to be given any information
available to Cafcass as to the source of the data. The Freedom of
Information Act will extend this right to access to personal data
held on any type of file, with effect from 1 January 2005.
If you wish to apply for access to your personal data (an
application known as a 'Subject Access Request'), you should write
to the local Cafcass office which is dealing with, or dealt with,
your case. A request for access to personal data must be dealt with
promptly and, in any event, within 40 days of receipt of the
request. We may charge a fee of £10.
SAR
information leaflet
Exemptions
The Cafcass Publication Scheme
lists information that we either have made a commitment to make
available, or are required to do so, except where we consider
release would cause significant harm. We must also comply with the
requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and respect the
privacy of individuals.
In some instances you will find documents made available under this
Publication Scheme will have gaps in the text. This is because the
information would cause significant harm if released and falls
within an exemption. Where this is the case the document will be
clearly marked to show where the information has been removed and
the exemption used. If you wish to complain about the use of an
exemption please see the Complaints Procedure.
Process for FOI complaint
Our policy is to be as open as
possible and supply the information you have requested, but we may
withhold information if we consider an exemption applies.
If information within a document made available under this
Publication Scheme is withheld the document will be clearly marked
to show where information has been removed and the exemption we
have used.
If we refuse to supply all or part of any other information you
have asked for we will write to you giving our reasons for refusal.
The reasons will be based on the exempted categories under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If you are not satisfied with the reasons you have the right to an
internal review undertaken by a senior member of staff. You may
request an internal review by contacting us via email governance@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk or
in writing to:
FOI Officer
Cafcass National
Office
6th Floor. Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT
Tel: 0844 353 3350
Fax 0844 353 3351
Your Feedback
If you have any
comments regarding the structure or content of the Scheme we would
be pleased to hear them. We are particularly interested in your
views and ask you to consider the following when
commenting:
· Did you know what
types of information you were entitled to request?
· Did you find the structure clear and easy to navigate?
· Were you using the Scheme to find something specific?
· If so, did you find it or find where to apply for it?
· If you were browsing, was the information available useful?
· What types of information or topics would you like to see in this
Publication Scheme that are not currently covered?
· Any other comments you would like to make?
Please send your
comments by stating your name, organisation and contact details to
governance@cafcass.gsi.gov.uk