Freedom of Information

	Information Commissioner's Office website

We are committed to open government and making as much information as possible accessible to the general public. However, we also respect confidentiality and personal privacy of data protection, and other relevant controls upon access to information.

What is the Freedom of Information Act?

The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to obtain information held by public authorities, including this Council, unless there are good reasons to keep it confidential. This general right of access under the Freedom of Information Act came into force in January 2005.

The Freedom of Information Act creates two general rights in relation to information:

• The right to be told whether or not the information requested is held;
• The right to be given that information within 20 working days.

Visit the Freedom of Information page of the Information Commissioner's Office website for full details on the topic.

What information is already available?

The Council aims to publish as much information as it can and a considerable amount of information is available on its website, through the Publication Scheme.

The Publication Scheme was created because of the Freedom of Information Act. The scheme has been approved by the Information Commissioner who has wide powers to enforce the rights contained in the Act.

Our publication scheme sets out:

• How to obtain different types of information;
• What types of information are available to be inspected and copied.

Before submitting a request you may wish to check if the information is already available. You can do this on our Publications Scheme page.

Frequently requested information that is available on the Publication Scheme page includes:

• Salary information of senior management
• Financial budgetary information
• Procurement procedures and contracts being tendered

Information that we do not hold

We are often asked for information on the following services in Oxford:

• Schools/Education
• Libraries
• On-street parking
• Social care

Oxford City Council does not hold information on the above issues. You may wish to approach Oxfordshire County Council, the authority responsible.

How do I make a Freedom of Information request to the Council?

Your request must be made in writing. You may submit your request via the online form below:

Freedom of Information Request

Alternatively, you can make a request by post or by email, using the contact details below:

Please ensure that you include your name, correspondence address and the full details of your request.

What will happen to my request?

Once the Council has received your request in writing it will begin to process it. It will be allocated a reference number and you will receive an acknowledgement confirming receipt. You will receive a response to your Freedom of Information request within 20 working days.

What should I do if I am unhappy with the response I receive?

If you are unhappy with any part of the response provided to you by the Council's Freedom of Information Officer you are entitled to ask the Council for an internal review of the decision(s) made.

You may do this by writing to the address below:

If, after the result of an internal review you are still not satisfied you may ask the Information Commissioner to intervene on your behalf. You may do this by writing to the address below:

The Information Commissioner has the power to investigate the way any public authority has handled your request and the answer they gave. If he/she agrees that we have wrongly withheld information, they can order us to disclose it to you. You can find further details on the Freedom of Information page of the Information Commissioner's Office website.

Subject Access Requests and Data Protection Issues

Please note if you wish to make a request for information held about yourself, this is known as a Subject Access Request. Visit our Data Protection and Subject Access Requests page for more information. Any questions in relation to a Subject Access Request should be sent to dataprotection@oxford.gov.uk or phone 01865 252546.

If you wish to make a Data Protection request, please visit our Data Protection and Subject Access Requests page. Any questions about Data Protection should be sent to dataprotection@oxford.gov.uk or phone 01865 252546.

Page last reviewed 19 April 2012