This guidance is for wholly-owned companies which are public authorities for the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act. It gives examples of the kinds of information that we would expect these companies to provide in order to meet their commitments under the model publication scheme. We would expect these companies 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the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or,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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Roles and responsibilities
Companies should be providing outline and detailed information about their roles and responsibilities, and the roles and responsibilities of people working in them at senior level. It should indicate the relationship with the public authority owning the company.
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Articles of Association
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Board membership
Identification of and biographical details of
Board members. Biographical details that are not work related should be published only with consent.
Identification of, responsibilities of and biographical details those making strategic and operational decisions about providing the company’s services. Biographical details that are not work related should be published only with consent.
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Staff structure
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Contact points
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.
The minimum we would expect is that financial information for the current and previous financial year should be available.
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Annual accounts
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Loans sanctioned
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Procurement procedures
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Staff and board members’ allowances and expenses
Details of the allowances and expenses that can be incurred or claimed. It should include the total of the allowances and expenses incurred by or paid to individual senior staff and management board members by reference to categories. These categories should be produced in line with the company’s policies, practices and procedures and will be under headings like travel, subsistence and accommodation.
What our priorities are and how we are doing
Strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.
We would expect information in this class to be available at least for the current and previous three years.
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Any reports indicating main priorities and progress against them
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Annual Report
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 two years.
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Minutes of meetings of the Board
We would expect board 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.
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 conducting departmental business
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Policies and procedures for delivering our services
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Policies and procedures for recruiting and employing staff
Codes of practice, memoranda of understanding and similar information should be included. A number of policies, for example equality and diversity, and 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. Policies and procedures for handling request for information should be included.
Standards for providing services to the company’s customers, including the complaint procedure. Complaints procedures will include those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme.
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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.
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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. They should clearly state what costs are to be recovered, the basis on which they are made, and how they are calculated.
Lists and registers
Any information we are currently legally required to hold in publicly available registers.
We expect this to be information contained only in currently maintained lists and registers.
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Any lists or registers that may be required to produce in the conduct of their business
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Any property asset list
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Disclosure logs
If a department produces a disclosure log indicating the information provided in response to requests, it should be readily available. Disclosure logs are recommended as good practice.
The services we offer
Information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters
Generally this is an extension of part of the first class of information. While the first class provides information on the company’s roles and responsibilities, this class includes details of the services the company provides, internationally, nationally and locally as a result of them. It will benefit the public to have ready access, for example, to everything from information about the services the company provides for the public authority owning it to the information readily available to individuals at a public counter (where provided). The starting point would normally be a list or lists of the services the company is responsible for, linked to details of these services.
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Details of company services
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Services
for which the company is entitled to recover a fee, together
with those fees
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Leaflets
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Media Releases
Version 2
23 October 2008
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