Freedom of Information Act 2000 Publication Scheme
Tuesday 20 June 2006
The FSA, along with every other public authority from November 2002, has a legal duty under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.
This legal duty requires it to:
- adopt and maintain a scheme which relates to the publication of information by the authority and to have that scheme approved by the Information Commissioner;
- publish information in accordance with that scheme; and
- review the scheme from time to time.
The publication scheme specifies:
- the classes of information which the public authority publishes (or intends to publish);
- the manner in which information in each class is, (or is intended to be), published and;
- whether the material is (or is intended to be) available free of charge or on payment of a fee.
The aim of the FSA publication scheme is to bring together in one place the many differing types of information that are issued by the Agency in the discharge of its public functions in a clear and structured manner.
The scheme will categorise the information type and provide details on how to obtain it. The overall benefit to our stakeholders and others is to save time and effort in searching and securing relevant Agency information.
Hard copies are obtainable from:
Stephen Johnson
Tel: 020 7276 8664
Access to information under the scheme
We will treat all requests for information on a fair and equal basis, and without prejudice. Where we are unable to provide the information you request, we will explain why. Where we decide not to release the information you request, we will explain why and give you details of how you can complain against our decision.
We will not normally charge a fee to supply copies of information or advice, unless the request is for a priced publication or data set. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable charge to cover the costs of transcription, photocopying, packaging and postage, or where a considerable amount of staff time would be needed to identify, process and collate information for you. In some cases, there will be separate charging arrangements for the supply of information for commercial use. We will inform you of any charges that might apply before processing your request.
Where the information you want is available in a priced publication, we will give you details of the publication and where you may buy it.
If you are not satisfied with the reasons we have given you have the right to complain. You may also complain if you believe the charges we have made to supply information are unfair.
The Information Asset Register (IAR)
As part of the Government's commitment to openness and in line with our own Code of Practice on Openness, the Food Standards Agency has created a FSA Information Asset Register (IAR). The IAR details Government information assets that can be reused under licence. It focuses primarily on unpublished data holdings and thus provides a guide to facilitate ease of access to unpublished information resources held by the FSA.
The inforoute search engine is the gateway to information held by UK Government bodies for anyone with web access. It provides direct access to the Government's IAR which identifies;
- what information the government holds;
- how useful that information is; and
- importantly, a contact point to whom requests for the underlying information may be made (requests would be subject to the Open Government Code and, in future, the FOI Act).
Further information on the IAR is available on the OPSI website.
© Crown Copyright
Material on this site is subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated.
The Agency authorises you to make one free copy, by downloading to printer or to electronic, magnetic or optical storage media, of any items featured in our publication scheme for the purposes of private research, study and / or reference. If you wish to re-use or reproduce any of our publications for any other use, for example commercially or for circulation for education or other purposes, you will in most cases need to apply for a copyright licence to do this.
The permission to reproduce Crown copyright protected material does not extend to any documents or material on this site belonging to or shared with another copyright holder. Authorisation to reproduce such material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned. We will, if possible, give you their contact details or a hyper-link to their website to assist you in accessing the document or material.
Logos
The copying and use of the FSA logo and other FSA-related logos is not permitted without prior approval of the FSA. For logo related queries please email the Webmaster.
Further information
Further information on Crown copyright policy and licensing arrangements can be found on the OPSI website or by contacting OPSI at:
OPSI Licensing Division
St. Clements House
2-16 Colegate
Norwich
NR3 1BQ
tel: 01603 621000
Related links
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