Further information

Freedom of Information Charging Policy

We charge for answering requests in two cases:

• where the cost of answering the enquiry goes over £450, and;
• where there are costs for preparing the information (e.g. printing, photocopying, postage or providing information in other formats).

1. Where the cost of dealing with the request goes over £450 (Prescribed costs)

For every request for information we must:

• Find out whether we have the information;
• Find out where it is held;
• Retrieve the information; and
• In some cases separate the information being requested from other information.

The time spent dealing with this is calculated at £25 per hour. With the majority of requests, the costs will be less than £450 and we will make no charge for the work involved.

If however the cost of dealing with your request goes over £450, we will contact you to discuss the information you have requested and the cost of providing it. If you still want the information in a format that is going to take the cost over that limit, then we’ll charge you the full amount.

No charges can be made for any or the following:

• Time taken deciding whether information should be exempt under the Act or undisclosed for any reason. This includes staff time and the cost of any legal advice sought;
• Where we cannot confirm or deny that it holds requested information;
• Vexatious or repeated requests;
• Consultation of third parties;
• Overheads eg superannuation costs, lighting, heating;
• Time taken in calculating the fees notice;
• Time taken to check that a request meets the requirements of the FOI Act;
• Assistance provided under section 16 of the Act.

2. Where costs for preparing the information are involved (Disbursements)

These include:

• photocopying or printing material;
• postage;
• producing material in a different format where requested eg CD-Rom, audio cassette;
• providing extracts of databases;
• translating the material into a different language where requested;
• Allowing you reasonable time to inspect a record containing the information (FOI only).;

Our charges are:

• 5p per A4 sheet for printing or photocopying, black and white;
• 10p per A3 sheet for printing or photocopying, black and white;
• 92p per A4 sheet for printing or photocopying, colour;
• £1.24 per A3 sheet for printing or photocopying, colour;
• Postage costs - documents will be sent by second class mail unless specified otherwise;
• actual costs incurred when providing information in other formats as follows: CDs at 25p each, Floppy discs at 25p each;
• any costs involving staff time will be charged at £25 per hour.

We can charge for these costs in all cases, whether or not we can also charge for the prescribed costs.

If the total cost is less than £10, we won’t charge you.

Information in other formats where it is required by Law

These Disbursements don't cover the cost of putting the material in a different format where this is required by law - for example, the cost of producing material in Braille (Disability Discrimination Act 1995), or translating into Welsh (Welsh Language Act 1993).

Where fees apply, we will send the information within 20 working days of receiving the payment.

If the actual cost of answering your request turns out to be more than we estimated, then we will pay the extra cost. If it's less, we will refund you the difference.

If it turns out to be less than £450, we will refund you all the money (except any disbursements over £10).

Combining requests for fee purposes

It may be possible for us to combine requests for the purpose of calculating fees. For example, when requests for information are made:

• by one person;
• different people acting for the same purpose, or on behalf of a campaign;
• On the same or related subject;
• Received before the 60th working day after the first request was received;

VAT

We may charge VAT if:

• The information is also available from a source that is not a public authority;
• Fees are charged for information that is provided.

Review of policy

We reserve the right to review our charging for information policy at any time.

Related pages on this website

• Freedom of Information FAQs