This guidance gives examples of the kinds of information that we would expect Local Fisheries Committees to provide in order to meet their commitments under the model publication scheme. We would expect fisheries committees to make the information in this definition document available unless:
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they do not hold the information;
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the information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
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the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or,
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it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.
The guidance is not meant to give a definitive list. The legal commitment is to the model publication scheme, and authorities should look to provide as much information as possible on a routine basis.
Who we are and what we do
Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts.
We would expect information in this class to be current information only.
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Constitution of the Committee
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Structure and membership of the Committee
Names of members of the Committee and any body represented by those members. Committee and sub committee structure.
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Staffing structure of the Committee
Staffing arrangements of the Committee, indicating numbers in post and giving some details about the senior member of staff.
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Geographical area covered
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Outline of responsibilities
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Location of office and contact details
This should give some indication at least of the role of the contact, phone number and where used e mail address. Where possible, give named contacts.
What we spend and how we spend it
Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.
We would expect as a minimum that financial information for the current and previous financial year should be available.
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Annual accounts
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Audit of accounts
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Revenue and capital spending plans
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Procurement procedures
What our priorities are and how we are doing
Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.
We would expect as a minimum that information for the current and previous financial year should be available.
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Aims, objectives and plans
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Performance against aims and plans
How we make decisions
Decision making processes and records of decisions.
We would expect information in this class to be available at least for the current and previous year.
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Minutes of the Committee and Sub Committees
We would expect committee minutes and the minutes of similar meetings where decisions are made about providing services to be readily available. This excludes information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting.
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Reports of advisory groups
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Other publicly available reports
Our policies and procedures
Current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities.
We would expect information in this class to be current information only.
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Policies and procedures for the conduct of the Committee’s business
Procedural standing orders, internal guidance about the division of responsibilities between committees and delegated authority, policies on communications between the committee and members of staff. Any codes of practice, memoranda of understanding and the like should be included.
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Policies and procedures about the provision of services
Policies of the committee that affect the manner in which services are provided.
This will include policies and procedures for handling requests for information.
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Policies and procedures about employment matters
A number of policies, for example equality and diversity, health and safety, will cover both the provision of services and the employment of staff. If vacancies are advertised as part of recruitment policies, details of current vacancies will be readily available.
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Records management and personal data policies
This will include information security policies, records retention, destruction and archive policies, and data protection (including data sharing) policies.
Standards for providing services to the Committee’s customers, including the complaint procedure. Complaints procedures will include those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme.
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Charging regimes and policies
Details of any statutory charging regimes should be provided. Charging policies should include charges made for information routinely published and clearly state what costs are to be recovered together with the basis on which they are made and how they are calculated.
Lists and registers
We expect this to be information contained only in currently maintained lists and registers.
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Any list or register that is legally required to be kept
Where a public authority is obliged to maintain a register and to make the information in it available for inspection by the public, it is accepted that in most circumstances that the existing provisions covering access will suffice. We would expect however that authorities do publicise which public registers they hold and how the information in them is to be made public. Where registers contain personal information, authorities must ensure that this is protected by the data protection principles.
We would not expect Committees to publish all details from all asset registers. We would expect some information from capital asset registers to be available. If a Committee has prepared an information asset register for the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005, it should publish the contents.
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Register of members’ interests
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Register of gifts and hospitality
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FoIA disclosure log
Where a committee produces an information disclosure log indicating the information that has been provided in response to requests it should be readily available. Disclosure logs are themselves recommended as good practice.
The services we offer
Information about the services we offer including leaflets, guidance and newsletters.
Generally this is an expansion of part of the first class of information. While the first class provides information on the roles and responsibilities of the Committee, this class includes details of the services which are provided by the Committee. It will be of public benefit to have ready access to everything, for example, from the services provided to or for Defra to the information readily available from a public counter. The starting point would normally be a list or lists of the services that fall within the responsibility of the Committee, linked to details of these services.
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Regulatory role
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Byelaws
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Information for fishermen
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Information about shellfish harvesting
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Notices, leaflets and guidance
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Media releases
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Details of the services for which the Committee is entitled to recover a fee together with those fees.
Version 2
23 October 2008
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