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FOI - Publication Scheme

Under the Freedom of Information Act every public authority has a duty to adopt and maintain a publication scheme. Publication schemes promote the proactive release of information and play an important role in providing greater openness and transparency across the public sector. In line with Section 20 of the Act the Information Commissioner has approved a new model publication scheme which has been adopted by South West RDA effective from 1 January 2009.

Classes of Information

The publication scheme commits all public authorities to routinely publish information under the following 7 classes:

  • Who we are and what we do
  • What we spend and how we spend it
  • What our priorities are and how we are doing
  • How we make decisions
  • Our policies and procedures
  • Lists and registers
  • The services we offer

Using the Publication Scheme

Information published under these classes is available through our Guide to Information which is located in the Resources section of our website.

The South West RDA aims to publish information on our website which falls within these classes of information unless:

  • We do not hold the information
  • The information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited in another statute
  • The information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible, or
  • It would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release

Related documents:

An aerial view of the coastline at Lyme Regis

Engineer inspecting metal component