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Publication Scheme |
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| |Start of content| This is the City of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority Publication Scheme Which covers the geographical area of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire For Fire and Rescue Authority related issues January 2009 Our full title and address for sending any correspondance is: Stoke-on-Trent
and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority The senior officer responsible for maintenance of this scheme is the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, who acts as the Fire and Rescue Authority's Information Officer and Data Protection Officer. The Information Governance Officer administers these schemes. Content Menu
1. What the publication scheme is and why it has been developed One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (which is referred to as FOIA in the rest of this document) is that public authorities should be clear and proactive about the information they will make public. To do this they must produce a publication scheme, setting out:
The Fire and Rescue Authority's publication scheme consists of information already published and held by the Authority or information that is to be published in the future. All information in the publication scheme is either available on the Service's website to download and print off or available in traditional document form. Information within the publication scheme will be available either free or at a charge and the table below shows which is free or which will be provided at a charge. Some information which the Authority holds may not be made public, for example, information about national security or court records. 2. Classes of information published by the Authority The publication scheme guides the public to information which the Authority currently publishes, or information it has recently published, or that we will publish in the future - this is split into 'classes' of information. The classes of information currently published are contained in section 4 of this document. Details of how the information is published and any fees charged for information contained in the publication scheme are set out in the same section. 3. Functions of the Fire Authority and Fire and Rescue Service in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire The Authority is responsible for carrying out the duties required by the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. These include: • Promoting community fire safety in its area -
through education or • Firefighting and protecting life and property. • Rescuing people from road traffic collisions. • Dealing with other emergencies such as floods
or chemical biological The Fire and Rescue Authority sets the annual budget and the cost of carrying out its duties is met (partly) by council tax in each council area (and partly by government grant and business rates). The Authority was established in 1997 following Local Government Reorganisation. Although Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council appoint representatives to the Authority it is a separate body responsible for carrying out its functions. Stoke-on-Trent City Council nominates six
councillors to serve the Authority and Staffordshire
County Council 19. A total of 25 in all. 4. Classes of Information Currently Published
Some information might be confidential or exempt from publication by law - we cannot therefore publish these. 5. Other useful website addresses The City of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority maintains a website at www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk and has an ongoing commitment to make as much information readily available on its website as possible. The information which the public or Service personnel are looking for may also be available from the following organisations or on their websites. The websites listed below are an excellent source of information and if the documents are downloaded or printed off by the enquirer they provide a quick response at little cost. However, the Authority takes no responsibility nor warrants the accuracy of information contained on the following sites:
6. Making an application for other Information to the Authority You can ask the Authority for information which is not already published elsewhere nor exempt under the FOIA. Under the FOIA, members of the public have the right to ask for information to be provided in a particular way and we will try to meet their requests. They can ask for assistance if they have any difficulty in formulating or making an application by contacting the Authority's Information Governance Officer. The Service will help you as much as possible but we are not required to look for the information you request unless we have all of the following: • A clear and understandable request, with enough detail to locate the information. • The name and address of the person making the
request so we can respond to • An indication about the form in which
they want the information. People making requests should give as much detail as they can in order to assist us in locating the information that they require. Some documents may include exempt information, so they will only get the information that is not exempt. You only have a right to information and not necessarily to documents. Any fee charged will be calculated by looking at the costs directly and reasonably incurred locating the requested information and delivering it. The person making the request will then be sent a 'fees notice' which he or she will have to pay within three months of their request - you will not receive information until you have paid the costs in the fees notice. If the estimated cost of providing the information would be above the appropriate limit set by the government (currently £450), the Authority will not be under a duty to provide the information. However, the Authority will inform them if the limit will be exceeded and will try to let him or her know what can be provided within the limit. Despite not being obliged to provide information which exceeds the limit, the Authority will still be under a duty to advise and assist. In order to protect the Authority, there are rules that govern multiple applications for information requests which are clearly trying to avoid the financial limits set by the government. However, the Authority will try to help the public as much as possible to get the information requested. You can also apply for a copy of the personal data we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998 - that is information relating to an applicant that has arisen through their employment with the Authority or information obtained about an individual through the Authority's statutory functions. There is a fee of £10 and you should contact the Authority's Data Protection Officer on 01785 898673 or by e-mail to: dpo@staffordshirefire.gov.uk. For further assistance or to make a complaint, contact the Authority's Information Governance Officer at the address given at the beginning of this document. If you are not satisfied with the assistance that you get from the Authority or if we have not been able to resolve your complaint and you feel that a formal complaint needs to be made then this should be addressed to the Office of the Information Commissioner. This is the organisation that ensures compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that deals with formal complaints. They can be contacted at::- Information
Commissioner, or Enquiry/Information Line: 01625 545 745. E-mail: data@dataprotection.gov.uk. The Commissioner will contact the Authority when an application is received under Section 50 of the FOI Act as soon as practicable or within 10 working days. The Authority will have 20 working days to provide the Information Commissioner with all the relevant information. This scheme will be made available in other languages or on audio cassette upon request. |
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Freedom Of Information