5 Ways to

Streamline your

FOI requests

in 2016

Freedom of information requests can be pretty challenging can’t they?

So we created this presentation to help

make things a little simpler

IntroductionAnyone, anywhere in the world can submit an FOI request

• FOI requests are up 30% year on year*

• They are increasingly being submitted by

businesses and journalists for commercial gain and

to save money on research

• St Albans Council received over 1000 requests

during 2014 (2015 statistics not available yet)**

• Information is often stored in different locations &

formats making it difficult to collate when a

request comes in

WHAT IS THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT?

• The right to access public authority information via:

• Publication Scheme

• FOI requests

• It only applies to public organisations

• It relates to all ‘Recorded Information’

• It doesn’t cover personal data – this is covered by the Data Protection Act (DPA)

What is the Freedom of Information Act?

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

Your responsibilities

Simply put:

• Tell them whether you hold the requested information (not applicable to the Scottish FOI Act)

• Provide the information requested within 20 working days

• Publish set information on your website as part of the Publication Scheme

BUT…!

What you DON’T have to do

You don’t have to comply when:

• An exemption applies, i.e. part of government policy or cause harm to a criminal investigation.

• If releasing it contravenes the DPA

• The request is vexatious – designed to disrupt

• A similar request already made

• It would cost too much (£600), or take too much staff time, to process. You can aggregate costs relating to requests made by the same person over a 60 day period

5 TIPS TO STREAMLINE YOUR

FOI REQUESTS

TIP 1: Make sure it meets the

FOI request threshold

Requests should:

• Be in writing – either by letter or email, not made via telephone

• Include the requestors name and contact address

• Specifies the information requested

(i.e. not ‘why don’t the bins get collected on time?’)

• Not be for personal Information – this is covered by the Data Protection Act

TIP 2: Make regularly requested

information available online

• Head regular requests off at the pass by putting the information on your

website e.g. Business rates, IT costs, housing repair contracts etc.

• In 2014 St Albans council discovered that 57%** of FOI requests were from

businesses. Most were in order to gain a commercial advantage

• When you receive these requests, simply refer them to your website

• This saves money & increases that all important transparency

TIP 3: Digitalise your Archives

Digital archives makes searching for information infinitely faster

• Put in place procedures for all paper correspondence to be scanned and filed

• Make a digital Masterfile: All copies should be made from one file – so that

the image remains clear. Copies of copies become degraded over time

• Store images in 2 locations

• Ensure the naming conventions follow your physical archives

• Have a master spreadsheet (meta data), or use a claims management system

TIP 4: Create a correspondence library

• Build document templates for regular letters & emails

• Speeds up correspondence

• Improves consistency of message

• Review templates regularly

• Administration is more efficient as information is easier to find, is more reliable and is secure. Less time and money is spent managing unnecessary information

• The risk of a security/Data Protection Act breach is reduced as appropriate security is applied to information

• Enables you to comply with external requirements faster - not just FOI requests but auditing or even funding requirements

TIP 5: Have strong document

management in place

3 RAPID WAYS TO RUN FOI REPORTS WITH EVOCLAIM

1: Filtering from the Claims Screen

Filter on any element of your

claims in a couple of clicks.

e.g. Primary Cause

2: With our Report Generator

Quickly build a more detailed

report which can be emailed

directly to relevant

stakeholders

3: Using Heatmaps

Visual representations of claims and

incidents with Google Heatmaps

which can drill down to

street level

Want to know more?

0333 010 7999

info@3sixtysystems.com

3sixtysystems.com

If you’d like to know more about how EvoClaim can help you, get in contact and we’ll be happy to talk you though it.

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Sources • *Information Commissioner’s Office: www.ico.org.uk

• Staffordshire Council http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/

• **St Albans Council www.stalbans.gov.uk/

• Local Government Association www.esd.org.uk

• Government websitewww.gov.uk

• MOJ: Freedom of Information Statistics April to June 2015