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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

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What is the Freedom of Information Act 2000 all about?
What does the College Publication Scheme cover?
How do I obtain information listed in this Publication Scheme?
When am I likely to receive the requested information?
What about the information not included in this Scheme?
What if I can't find the information I want?
How do I find out about any information you may hold about me personally?
Who do I contact to find out more?

What is the Freedom of Information Act 2000 all about?

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act) became law on 30 November 2000 and is intended to foster a culture of openness in government. The FOI Act states that a publication scheme should specify:

• The classes of information which the public authority publishes or intends to publish;
• The manner in which they will be published;
• Whether the information is available free of charge or on payment.

The Publication Scheme provisions are applicable to Burnley College from 1st January 2005

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What does the College Publication Scheme cover?

This Publication Scheme covers information routinely published by Burnley College. It is a list of 'classes', groups, or types of information. The classes are arranged in sections, e.g. Governance, Finance and Resources, Management, Student Information etc. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the College has a duty to specify what information classes it makes available, how the information is made available, and whether it is available free of charge or upon payment. Burnley College is committed to openness and actively seeks to make available information about how it works, its decisions and the services it provides.

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How do I obtain information listed in this Publication Scheme?

The majority of the information the Publication Scheme contains is, or will shortly be, freely available on this website. Some information has been marked as ''available for inspection at the College''. This is because some information is either too large or in an unsuitable format to be made electronically available or photocopied. Contact the Freedom of Information Officer to arrange to inspect this information. You may be asked to pay an administrative charge if you want paper copies of certain information.

When making a request: 

• You should be as precise as possible with your request
• You do not need to give a reason
• In general terms you should not request personal information, this is dealt with under the Data Protection Act ( only in a few, specific circumstances can we deal with personal information under the Freedom of Information Act )
• You will need to pay a fee, (see the Publication Scheme for likely costs of documents) but will be notified in advance and asked if you still want to go ahead with the request.
• You should tell us how you want to receive the information (eg. by post, by e- mail etc ). We will try to supply the information in the format you request.
• If we do need to clarify what information you are asking for, we will contact you to agree the details of the request before we provide our response.
• You have a right of appeal if we cannot supply you with the information you have requested. To do this you should follow the College's ‘complaints procedure’ which is available on this web site.

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When am I likely to receive the requested information?

• We will supply you with the information, wherever possible, and do this within 20 working days of you making the request. 
• We will supply you with all the information requested unless it falls within one of the exemptions in the Act. If this is the case you will be informed of our reason for not supplying you with that information. S pecific exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 include:
• Information which is already accessible, for example through our Publication Scheme.
• Personal data about individuals which is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998. If the information you are requesting is about you, we will deal with it under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.
• If we are not able to supply you with the information you have requested, we will write to you within 20 working days to explain which exemption applies and what it means.

The full list of exemptions is contained in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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What about the information not included in this Scheme?

This scheme only covers information created by Burnley College. Unless otherwise stated, all information within this scheme relates to that currently available in a published version.

If the information you require is historical it may be available from our archives. If you are unable to find what you are looking for within the Scheme, contact the Freedom of Information Officer for more information. Information not specifically mentioned in the Scheme may still be available on request.

Please note that vexatious and repeated requests or applications made with the aim of frustrating the College’s operations may be refused. We may also refuse to supply information where that information is considered to be exempt under the Act.  If you want more details on these exemptions or any part of the Act please contact the College's Freedom of Information officer on the address above.

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What if I can't find the information I want?

If having consulted the College publication scheme, you cannot find what you are looking for you can make a request for the information under the terms of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. You can obtain a copy of this Code by writing to the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Division, Room 912, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT.

Requests for information under the code should be made in writing to the College, with as much detail as necessary to identify the information sought.

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How do I find out about any information you may hold about me personally?

The College has procedures for providing access to information held about individuals. To ensure we comply with Data Protection legislation, this is managed through a central point. If you wish to identify whether information is held about you, and if so, for what reasons, please write to:

The Data Protection Officer
Burnley College
Shorey Bank
Ormerod Road
Burnley
BB11 2RX

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Who do I contact to find out more?

If after considering the contents of the Burnley College Publication scheme you still need more information you should write to the Freedom of Information Officer who is responsible for the Scheme on behalf of the College. This can be via the link page identified on the Publication Scheme or alterntatively by writing to the:-

The Freedom of Information Officer
Burnley College
Shorey Bank
Ormerod Road
Burnley
BB11 2RX

If you want general information on Data Protection, Freedom of Information or Publication Schemes, contact the Information Commissioner:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

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