Request council information

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) you have a right to request non-personal recorded information that may be held by a public authority.

This right only covers recorded information including information held on computers, in emails, in printed or handwritten documents, as well as, images, video and audio recordings.

You do not have to know whether the information you want is covered by Freedom of Information (FOI) or the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). When you make a request for ‘official’ information, it is for us as a public authority, to decide which law we need to follow.

How to request council information

‘Freedom of information (FOI) requests’ must be made in writing. Requests for environmental information do not need to be made in writing but as it is up to us to decide whether your request falls under FOI or EIR it is advisable to send your request to us in writing.

 Alternatively , you can email your request to  accessinformation@staffordshire.gov.uk

Exemptions and exceptions

Under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Regulations you are able to request any non-personal recorded information held by the council or held on the council’s behalf. However, under both, there are exemptions (Known under EIR as exceptions) which can be used to withhold information if it is considered that it is not in the public interest to release it.

There are two types of exemptions – Conditional exemptions which require us to carry out a public interest test and Absolute exemptions for which a public interest is not needed.

Re-use of council information

Re-use of information is governed by the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015. These regulations apply to information that falls within our 'public task' as a local authority. Request for re-use should, initially, be addressed to

accessinformation@staffordshire.gov.uk

Categories for which re-use is not permitted

• information prohibited for release by other legislation e.g. personal and commercial information

• information where we are not the copyright owner e.g. cycle maps, cycle journey planner

• information where we have entered a commercial agreement e.g. Find my past, Staffordshire archive service

Unless otherwise indicated, information published on our website is made available for re-use subject to licence terms.

Help and advice

Please contact us if you need advice about making a request for council information, or if you need help to put your request in writing.

You can contact us by:

• Email: accessinformation@staffordshire.gov.uk

• Telephone: 0300 111 8000 

Further information

Further information about requesting official information from a public body is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office web site.