Introduction

The purpose of the Act is to give people the right to request information from organisations that receive public funds, such as local authorities, police forces, health services, schools and universities. This is extended to included wholly owned companies of public authorities. The new legislation is intended to promote better public understanding of how these organisations carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do, and how they spend tax-payers' money.

The Act:

• is a new law, fully in force from 01 January 2005
• gives everyone, both inside and outside The Intraining Group, a right of access to information held by The Intraining Group
• covers all electronic and paper records and information held by The Intraining Group, whether current or archived
• requires The Intraining Group to provide the requested information within twenty working days
• contains certain exemptions that determine which information should not be released.

The Intraining Group is committed to promoting a culture of transparency and accountability and has a duty to help you understand your rights and responsibilities under this new legislation and to explain how you can exercise those rights and fulfil your responsibilities.

You can access information in two ways:

• via the ICO's Model Publication Scheme
• by making a written request to the Company

The ICO Model Publication Scheme

The Act requires The Intraining Group and other public authorities to make information available proactively through a publication scheme. The Model Publication Scheme commits The Intraining Group to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities. The information covered is included in the classes of information mentioned below, where this information is held by the authority.

Classes of information

• Who we are and what we do - Organisational information, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance.
• What we spend and how we spend it - Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts.
• What our priorities are and how we are doing - Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews.
• How we make decisions - Policy proposals and decisions. Decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations.
• Our policies and procedures - Current written protocols for delivering our functions and responsibilities.
• Lists and Registers - Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority.
• The Services we Offer - Advice and guidance, booklets

A Guide to Specific Information is currently being developed and will be available here shortly.

Making a Written request

What are my rights?

You have the right to contact The Intraining Group and ask for information which we hold on any subject or relating to any particular topic. Any information held by The Intraining Group may be eligible for release.

However, a number of exemptions may be applied to protect information which needs to be restricted. If we cannot tell you whether we have the information you want, or if we refuse to disclose information we hold, we will explain the reasons and you will have the opportunity to appeal against our decision. If we do not have the information, but know that it may be held by another public authority, e.g. the Learning & Skills Council, we will tell you and we may forward your request.

If the information you require is not available via the ICO Model Publication Scheme, you will need to put your request in writing and you are advised to send it to:

Head of Corporate Governance
The Intraining Group
Second Floor
722 Prince of Wales Road
Darnall, Sheffield
S9 4EU

Email: compliance@intraining.co.uk

You should expect a response from The Intraining Group within twenty working days. We may need more details from you or clarification of what you want before we can either locate the information or respond appropriately. There may be a charge for complicated requests, but we will try to deal with simple and routine requests at no cost to you.

What if The Intraining Group does not hold the information?

The Act states that we must release information we hold, but we do not have to produce new information in response to a request. Sometimes, we may produce a summary of what we hold, if this is acceptable to you. We may ask you to wait until the information you require is published. We will not undertake fresh research on a subject in order to respond to a request.

What happens if my request is refused?

Some information held by The Intraining Group may be exempt from release, such as personal information we hold about other people. Information may be exempt for a number of reasons allowed by the Act and we will make a decision when we receive your request. Often we will have to decide whether it is in the public interest to release information. Our policy is that we should always release information unless there is a very good reason, allowed by the law, not to.

If your request is refused, we will tell you why and identify which exemption we are applying. You will also be given details of how to complain if you are not satisfied with our response. If, after your complaint has been looked at internally, we still refuse your request, you may ask the Information Commissioner to review our decision

What is the difference between the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act?

The Data Protection Act 1998 is designed to regulate how organisations process information relating to individuals and to ensure that they do so responsibly. Individuals are entitled, upon application, to be supplied with copies of all the information held about them together with an explanation of how the information is used (the right of subject access) and to then challenge or correct this information if necessary. This information can only be supplied to the subject of the data and not to any third parties.

The Act refers to information in any format that The Intraining Group holds and it can be requested by anyone. Information about third parties may be requested but is exempt from disclosure if releasing it would conflict with data protection obligations.

Advice

Further advice on accessing information held by The Intraining Group is available from:

Head of Corporate Governance
The Intraining Group
Second Floor
722 Prince of Wales Road
Darnall, Sheffield
S9 4EU

Email: compliance@intraining.co.uk

Telephone: 0114 289 8400
Fax: 0114 289 8401

Further information about citizens' rights under the Act, the Data Protection Act and related legislation is available from:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Website: http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
Telephone:01625 545745
Fax:01625 524510