E03/25

Committee: Meeting Date: Lead Councillor/s: Local Councillor/s: Sponsor: Contact Point: Executive Committee 11 February 2003 Kathy Pollard All Guenever Pachent, Assistant Director, Libraries & Heritage, 01473 584558 Margaret Davies, Head of Information & Learning, Libraries & Heritage 01473 584559

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) PUBLICATION SCHEME BRIEF SUMMARY OF REPORT 1. This paper introduces the FOI publication scheme which is attached, and sets out why we wrote it and the processes we went through. It asks the committee to adopt the scheme as an evolving document for publication in print and on the website. It notes that the Information Commissioner has indicated approval for the scheme for 2003 to 2007. The paper refers to the need for a Corporate Information Unit and the funding for it. It describes the next steps in implementing the FOI Act and the nature of the resources these will take.

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ACTION RECOMMENDED 4. To adopt the attached Freedom of Information Publication Scheme for Suffolk as an evolving document for immediate publication in print, with new editions as appropriate, and on the website, with continuous updating. To note that implementing the act will require organisational change in all directorates, with staff in all parts of the council needing to acquire new skills and change the way they work. To require an FOI implementation strategy and action plan by the last quarter of 2003/04.

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REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION Publication scheme 7. The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 introduces new rights to obtain information from public organisations. It is a key part of the governments framework for open and transparent access to information. It complements

the Data Protection Act 1998 which already gives individuals the right to obtain information about themselves. 8. Information, in the context of the FOI Act, means everything published and held by the organisation: web pages, electronic and paper documents, maps, photos and so on. When the Act comes fully into force in January 2005, everyone will have the right to access almost all of the councils information past records while we still hold them, present and future. As the first step in the process, the Act required all local authorities to prepare a publication scheme for submission in December 2002 and approval by the Information Commission by February 2003. The scheme must by available to the public by February 2003. We have to say whether the material will be available free of charge or how much it will cost, and review the scheme regularly.

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10. We have to group documents in the publication scheme together as best we can in ways that will make sense to people looking for information. We have to publish the scheme both electronically on the web and in print. 11. Although we have to adopt a policy of openness by publishing as much information as possible, there are some exemptions. These are set out in the publication scheme. 12. Three staff, seconded from Libraries & Heritage and Resource Management and guided by an all-directorate steering group, have drawn up the publication scheme in a short space of time. 13. When deciding how to group the classes of information, we called on best practice and have grouped the information in a way that mirrors the web site. We will add more classes of information during 2003 to 2005, particularly to cater for information which we do not yet make public. By January 2005 we will need classes to cover almost all our information. Corporate information unit 14. Information is a vital corporate and service resource of the council which we sometimes waste or duplicate. This is because we do not yet have sufficiently robust structures, processes or skills in place everywhere to stop us losing some of it or duplicating it. Information is a resource, as important to the organisation as for example property or technology. Information is sometimes confused with technology. 15. In the summer of 2002 we commissioned research by the University College London to advise us how to meet the obligations of the FOI Act. The subsequent report included a recommendation that we set up a Corporate Information Unit, to be sponsored by a member of the Corporate Management Team and led by a senior professional with the skills and influence to implement and gain acceptance for change. 16. A Corporate Information Unit would incorporate some existing functions of the council eg records management, but would also need new resources, in the order of 200,000 pa. Without a Unit it will be difficult to begin to implement the FOI Act. Funding for the Unit is covered by the budget proposals in the budget paper on this agenda.

17. The Unit would work closely with Resource Management particularly on the ICT strategy, and with the technological partner, when chosen, on Electronic Records Management (ERM) software; with Scrutiny and Monitoring which would advise on compliance with the FOI Act; and with the Communications Unit which provides the policy and guidelines on what SCC publishes and communicates. Changing the way we work 18. Implementing the FOI Act means that as staff we will need to change the way we work, creating and filing our information according to corporate standards and guidelines. Pieces of work, be they documents, videos or any medium, will need keywords, access permissions, disposal schedules and so on, so that we can retrieve what citizens ask for, and get rid of what we no longer need. 19. If supplied with the technological partner, we will all need to use a corporate ERM system. We will need to move to single copies of information stored electronically throughout the council, rather than multiples of copies stored in multiple filing cabinets. 20. If the council moves its headquarters to Russell House, the consequent need to rationalise storage space will help bring about this culture change, at least in Ipswich. 21. We will need to acquire a spirit of openness for almost all our information. Funding for training is included in the budget proposals. ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS 22. To amend the attached publication scheme. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 23. The objectives are to meet the requirements of the FOI Act, and to set up structures, processes and conditions for culture changes which will allow the council efficiently and effectively to produce, use and store information, make it accessible, and delete or archive it. ANTICIPATED TARGETS AND ACHIEVEMENT TIMESCALES 24. We submitted an earlier version of the publication scheme to the Information Commissioner to meet his deadline of 31 December 2002. He has approved it for the period 2003 to 2007. It is accepted, indeed required, that the scheme is an evolving document with continuous updating. 25. If we are able to set up a Corporate Information Unit from early in 2003/04, it will be a small facilitating unit with a network of information champions in directorates. An information unit and the FOI Act will require changes in the way many staff work by January 2005. 26. A unit and related network of champions and culture changes within directorates will enable us to deal with a wide range of demands of the FOI Act on current and future records. These include the development of processes for answering and recording enquiries across the council, and a policy for charging. We will need to develop the publication scheme and expand it significantly so that it refers to all the councils information.

27. We will need to develop consistent standards for the recording and referencing of information council wide. We will need consistent standards for retention and deletion of records across directorates, and to develop and roll out training to a significant number of staff. 28. Together with the technological partner and as part of the ICT strategy, we will need access to an electronic records management system from desk top PCs. 29. We will need to develop with our public sector partners a more joined-up approach to publication schemes, to make finding information as easy as possible for the citizen. 30. We do not know how many FOI enquiries we will receive from 2005 onwards, and whether we will have sufficient resources to answer them. Nor are we sure at this stage whether we have enough resources to manage all our past records our preparations are aimed first at managing current and future records. POLICY AND PERFORMANCE PLAN 31. By adopting and publishing the FOI publication scheme we are continuing to demonstrate that we will be open in everything we do to ensure that we are fully accountable to the people of Suffolk. 32. We will also help more people to access our services more easily (priority I). CONSULTATIONS 33. While developing the publication scheme we consulted with councillors and officers from all directorates. We asked for comment from citizens via the web site. 34. We will continue to ask for comment from stakeholders after we have published the scheme. 35. The portfolio holders, through the priority and budget setting process, and the Corporate Management Team have been consulted about the setting up of a Corporate Information Unit. 36. We will consult the Access and Community Involvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee when developing the FOI strategy and action plan.

SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION a) b) Guidance from the Information Commissioner. Advice to SCC on the implementation of the FOI Act by Dick Baxter, School of Public Policy, University College London. August 2002.