You are entitled to request information held by Totnes Town Council under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The Council is committed to responding to these requests in a professional, lawful and timely manner. Totnes Town Council is committed to making information readily available to the public as part of our normal Council business activities and much information is available on this website. Details can be found in the Council’s Freedom of Information Publication Scheme document below.
About the Freedom of Information Act (FOI)
- Anyone can make a written request for information held under the terms of the Act
- We must tell you whether the information is held by the Council
- Subject to any exemptions, you are entitled to that information within 20 working days from the date of receipt of your request.
About the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)
- The EIR apply to all information which relates to the environment, in its broadest sense including land, air, water, soil, building, animals and people, pollution of all kinds, waste, health and safety.
- An EIR request can be made either in writing or verbally.
- Subject to any exemptions, you are entitled to that information within 20 working days from the date of receipt of your request.
How Do I Make A Request?
Freedom of Information requests need to be made in writing either by:
- Email: administrator@totnestowncouncil.gov.uk
- Form: see below
- Letter: Totnes Town Council, The Council Offices, 5 Ramparts Walk, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5QH
And for Environmental Information Regulations:
- Telephone: 01803 862147 and ask to speak to the Governance and Projects Manager
About Personal Data/Subject Access Requests
Any individual is entitled to obtain from Totnes Town Council:
• Confirmation as to whether Totnes Town Council is processing any personal data about you.
• Access to that personal data.
• Any related information, for example, why it is held, it is used for, where the information and who can see the information.
To make a request please complete the form below and bring this form to the Council for your identity to be verified.
What Happens Next?
Acknowledging your request – We will log your request and send you an acknowledgement.
Asking for clarification – If your request is too wide or is unclear, we will contact you as soon as possible and ask you for clarification. We will put the request on hold while we wait for a reply. If you do not reply within 4 weeks we will assume that you do not want the information and close the request. When you reply within 4 weeks, the request starts from “day 1” again.
Replying to you – The FOI Act and EIR both say that we should reply to you within 20 working days. We will do this wherever possible.
Under EIR, if your request is complicated or there is a lot of information to provide, we can extend the request for a further 20 working days.
Under FOI, if we think we might be going to refuse to supply some or all of the information you have requested, but the decision is complicated, we can extend the request for a further 20 working days.
If we need to extend the request we will write to tell you.
If we do NOT hold the information, we will tell you – and if we know that another organisation does hold it, we will let you know.
If we refuse to supply some or all of the information you have requested, we will quote the relevant sections of the FOI Act or EIR, with an explanation of why we are not supplying the information.
What happens if I am dissatisfied with a response I’ve received?
Questions about the response – Contact us as soon as possible. We may be able to answer any queries quickly (for example, if we have misunderstood your request or provided an incomplete or unclear response).
Asking for additional information – If you want to know more as a result of our reply, you can make a new request.
Internal Review – If we have refused to supply information, and you disagree with the reasons, or if you think that we have acted incorrectly in replying to your request, please ask us for an internal review.
We will not usually consider a request for an internal review which is made later than 40 working days after receiving our response (or 40 working days after the due date of the response, whichever is later).
The internal review will be carried out by an officer who was not involved in providing the original response. A full re-evaluation of the response/decision you have received will be undertaken, taking into account your objections.
What happens if I remain dissatisfied following the internal review? –
If you have had your case reviewed and are still not satisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent body which oversees FOI, EIR and Data Protection matters. The Information Commissioner will not usually consider your case until you have completed our internal review process.