Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations

The distinction between access and re-use

i) Access to most public sector information is provided by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). But provision of information under this access legislation does not mean that the recipient has an automatic right to re-use it, for example to publish it, or adapt it in some way. Most information supplied in response to an access request will be protected by copyright and permission to re-use it will be required.

ii) The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations provides a framework for obtaining this permission. However, they do not apply unless the document has already been provided to an applicant or is otherwise accessible to the applicant. They do not provide a means of obtaining access to information that is not already accessible, whether under access legislation or by some other means.

Copyright

The supply of documents to a member of the public or applicant by the Council (e.g. under the FOIA) does not grant the right to re-use this information in a way that would infringe any copyright on those documents. For example, an applicant would not be permitted to make copies, to publish, or issue copies to any other person/s. Brief extracts of any of the material may be reproduced without the Council's permission, under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 & 30) for the purposes of:

research for non-commercial purposes
private study
criticism
review
news reporting

What kind of information will become available for re-use?

The public sector collects and collates a vast array of information that could easily be used by the commercial sector. We are currently cataloguing the information which can be re-used and this will form part of our new publication scheme for 2009 and onwards.

How do I make a request to re-use information?

A request must:

Be in writing
State your name and address
Specify the document which you would like to re-use

All requests for re-use should be sent to:-

Information Management Officer
South Cambridgeshire District Council
South Cambridgeshire Hall
Cambourne Business Park
Cambourne
Cambridge
CB23 6EA

Or by e-mailing: foi@scambs.gov.uk

How long will it take the Council to respond to my request?

We are required to respond in writing within 20 working days. Occasionally the response time may need to be extended. If this is the case, we will explain why and give you a revised response time.

You will be notified of the following:

The requested document is available for re-use, and any conditions that are attached, or
The request has been refused with reasons

Will permission always be granted to re-use information?

No. The regulations allow us to refuse requests for any of the following reasons:

The document contains information in which intellectual property rights are owned by a third party.
The contents of the document are exempt from disclosure under FOIA or EIR.
The document does not fall within the Council's statutory functions.

How will you process my request?

Wherever possible we will process your request electronically and also make the documents you wish to re-use electronically available. However, we are not obliged to create or adapt a document in order to comply with a request for re-use. Nor are we required to provide an extract from a document where it would involve unreasonable effort.

Will I be able to re-use information in whatever way I want to?

We may impose conditions on the re-use of information by way of Licence.

What do I do if I'm not happy with how my request has been handled?

You can ask for an internal review, which should be made in writing within 40 days of notification of the decision. Requests for internal reviews should be sent to:-

Information Management Officer
South Cambridgeshire District Council
South Cambridgeshire Hall
Cambourne Business Park
Cambourne
Cambridge
CB23 6EA

Or by e-mailing: foi@scambs.gov.uk

If you are still unhappy following the outcome of the internal review, you can write to The Office of Public Sector Information.

Charges

Regulations state that when allowing re-use of information, public authorities can make a 'reasonable return on investment'. In calculating a licence fee the Council will take into account the following:

The Council's intellectual property, e.g. information that has a commercial value. A charge for this would be determined on a case by case basis.
Charges for staff time.

A fee of £25.00 per hour will be charged in respect of staff time for making the requested information available to the applicant for re-use. This may vary depending on the seniority of the member of staff who is required to manage the request.

Charges for materials

Standard charges for printing and photocopying:

Fee structure for various formats of information provision
Method of production	Format	Size	Charge
Photocopying	Black and White	A3	15p per sheet
Photocopying	Black and White	A4	10p per sheet
Photocopying	Colour	A3	60p per sheet
Photocopying	Colour	A4	50p per sheet
Printing	Black and White	A3	15p per sheet
Printing	Black and White	A4	10p per sheet
Printing	Colour	A3	60p per sheet
Printing	Colour	A4	50p per sheet
CD burning	Digital	Standard	30p per CD
Printing from Microfiche/Microfilm	Black and White	A4	10p per frame
Conversion to digital format	Digital	variable	Incurred costs
Conversion to microfiche or microfilm	Monochrome	Microfiche	Incurred costs