Can I request any information?

Yes, you may ask for any information you think the Council has.  It may already be routinely available via our publication scheme in which case we will advise you how to obtain the information via this route.  In other instances we will normally tell you whether we hold the information or not (the duty to confirm or deny).  Please note however that in some cases we do not have a legal obligation to do this.  After that we will consider whether any exemptions apply.

What are the exemptions?

There are a total of 23 exemptions, most of which do not apply to a Council.  Exemptions fall into two categories:

• Absolute, in which, the information will not be supplied
• Qualified, to which a public interest test is applied

Absolute exemptions include:

• Information that cannot be released by law or may affect a court case
• Information supplied by or relating to security matters

Qualified exemptions include:

• Legal commercial privilege
• Commercial interest
• Personal information relating to someone other than yourself

How do I make a request?

Either by completing a form available from this Office or by writing a letter supplying the same information.  If you would like help making your request then please contact us.

How long will it take?

By law we have 20 days to deal with your request.  This deadline may be extended if a fee is requested or if we need to apply a public interest test.  We will always try to deal with your request as quicly as possible and keep you informed of progress.

For further information contact:

Freedom
Mid Suffolk District Council
131 High Street
Needham Market
Ipswich
IP6 8DL
Telephone 01449 724692
E-mail freedom@midsuffolk.gov.uk 

The Information Commissioner also produces a number of leaflets and other publications.

Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF
Telephone 01625 545 700
E-mail mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk