FOI Publication Scheme

Publication Scheme

The purpose of a Publication Scheme is to ensure that information is available to the public without the need to make specific requests.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme. Authorities are under a legal obligation to:

• publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
• tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost.

The Comhairle has adopted the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme.

The purpose of this Guide to Information is to:

• allow you to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class.
• state what charges may be applied.
• explain how you can find the information easily.
• provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information.
• explain how to request information we hold that has not been published.

Download the Guide to Information: 

Model Publication Scheme (492.2kB) (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) 

Availability and Formats

The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on our website. We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this).

Exempt Information

We will publish the information we hold that falls within the classes of information below. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland's freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we may remove or redact the information before publication but we will explain why.

Copyright and Re-use of Information

The Comhairle adopts the UK Government’s Open Government Licence (Opens in a new window or downloads a file) for the information which it publishes, including that covered by the Model Publication Scheme and that which it provides in response to FOI requests.  Where the Comhairle holds the copyright in its published information, the information may be re-used, copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that the Open Government Licence is complied with and that:

• the information is copied or reproduced accurately
• it is not used in a misleading context, and
• the source of the information is identified

Where the Comhairle does not hold the copyright in the information, we will make this clear.  If you wish to re-use such information, you should contact us for guidance.

Charges

This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.

There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises except where there is a statutory fee, for example, for access to registers.

We may charge for providing information to you e.g., photocopying and postage, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.

Our photocopying charge per sheet of paper is shown in the table belowbelow:

Photocopying Charges

Type	Size of Paper	Pence per sheet of paper
Black and White Photocopying	A4	10p
Colour Photocopying	A4	30p

Information provided on CD-Rom/DVD will be charged at £1.00 per disc.

Postage costs will be recharged at the rate we pay to send the information to you.

When providing copies of pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run.

We do not pass any other costs on to you in relation to our published information.

This charging schedule does not apply to our commercial publications (see Class 8 below).

These items are offered for sale through retail outlets such as book shops, academic journal websites or museum shops and their price reflects a 'market value' which may include the cost of production.

You can contact us for assistance with any aspect of this publication scheme using the details provided  below.

We will also be pleased to advise you how to ask for information that we do not publish, or how to complain if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of this publication scheme.

The Classes of Information That We Publish

We publish information that we hold within the following classes. Once information is published under a class we will continue to make it available for the current and previous two financial years.

Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will be available. If you would like to see previous versions, you may make a request to us for that information.

Class 1: About the Comhairle Council
Information about the Comhairle, who we are, where to find us, how to contact us, how we are managed and our external relations.

Class 2: How we deliver our functions and services
Information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions and services and information for our service users.

Class 3: How we take decisions and what we have decided
Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others.

Class 4: What we spend and how we spend it
Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources (in sufficient detail to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent).

Class 5: How we manage our human, physical and information resources
Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the Comhairle.

Class 6: How we procure goods and services from external providers
Information about how we procure goods and services, and our contracts with external providers.

Class 7: How we are performing
Information about how we perform as an organisation, and how well we deliver our functions and services.

Class 8: Our Commercial Publications
Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis and sold at market value through a retail outlet e.g. bookshop, museum or research journal. 

Class 9: Open Data
Open data made available by the authority as described in the Scottish Government’s Open Data Resource Pack and available under an open licence.