are councillors covered by FOI
Any other information held by a councillor is likely to be covered by FOI(S)A and the EISRs. This includes recorded information about formal council meetings (including minutes, agendas and reports) and informal meetings which the councillor has with council staff or with external bodies on council business. The FOI (Freedom Of Information Act) has been changed to a generic model which should be adopted and operated by all public authorities from 1 January 2009. A local council will breach the Act if it has not adopted the model scheme and/or is not publishing in accordance with it by this date. There are two main issues which need to be considered when discussing the relationship between freedom of information and councillors. 1  The first issue is whether councillors are covered by the legislation. 2  The second is to what extent local authorities hold information on behalf of councillors. All councils must have a Freedom of Information Act publication scheme. If the parish council has not adopted or published a scheme the default model scheme may be deemed to apply. Councils are legally required publish this information by Information Commissioner's Office. As well as responding to requests for information, you must publish information proactively. The Freedom of Information Act requires every public authority to have a publication scheme, approved by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and to publish information covered by the scheme. This website provides assistance and general information to help you access government documents by using the Victorian Freedom of Information Act 1982. On the site you can download a Freedom of Information (FOI) request form and locate the correct agency to send your request to. There are two main issues which need to be considered when discussing the relationship between freedom of information and councillors. 1  The first issue is whether councillors are covered by the legislation. All information we hold is covered by FOI. There are only three reasons why we would not provide information if it was requested. These are: 1  the information requested is exempt from disclosure. 2  the request is considered a nuisance, unreasonable or repeated. All information we hold is covered by FOI. There are only three reasons why we would not provide information if it was requested. These are: 1  the information requested is exempt from disclosure. 2  the request is considered a nuisance, unreasonable or repeated. 3  the required fee is not paid within three months. The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) came fully into force on 1 January 2005. It gives you the right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities.
Yes