Freedom of Information (FOI)

Who can make a request?

Everyone has the right to request information held by a public authority. You do not need to give a reason for requesting information. In most cases, we will release the information within 20 working days, unless it is ‘exempt’ under one of the exemptions of the Act.

If you would like to make a Freedom of Information request to Wychavon District Council, under the FOI act this will need to be made in writing, stating your full name and address for correspondence (an email address is acceptable).

Please send email requests to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. stating the information you would like to request along with your contact information.

If you would like to send an FOI request in writing please send to:

Legal Department
Wychavon District Council
Civic Centre
Queen Elizabeth Drive
Pershore
Worcestershire
WR10 1PT 

If you are unable to make the request in writing and need assistance in doing so, then please contact Legal Services on 01684 862366  

Freedom of Information Act 2000

In accordance with the Act, we do not charge for processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act, providing the cost of processing does not exceed the statutory limit of £450 (18 hours at £25 per hour).  When estimating how long it will take to process a request, we take into account the time it will take us to locate, retrieve and extract the information requested.

If the estimated cost of processing exceeds £450, we can refuse to supply the information or could ask you to pay a fee, which would include a contribution in respect of officer time spent in dealing with your request.  This will be calculated in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.  If we do need to charge, we will send you a ‘Fees Notice’ which you will need to pay before our detailed search begins.  If you are not in a position to pay a fee, please contact us for further advice.

Disbursements

Any disbursements associated with processing your requests are payable in all cases. Examples of disbursements include the costs of postage, reproducing the information and printing. See Disbursement Charges table for details.

Making more than one request

For the purpose of calculating the statutory limit, where we receive two or more requests within 60 days of each other, from an individual or group of individuals who appear to us to be acting together or in pursuance of a campaign, we may be entitled to aggregate the costs of processing these requests.

Environmental Information Regulations

In dealing with requests for information under the Environmental Information Regulations, we are entitled to charge a reasonable amount towards the cost of reproducing the information for you in the format you have requested. To be fair and reasonable we have decided to charge the same hourly rate as we do for Freedom of Information requests.

No charge will be made to access to any public registers of environmental information held by us nor to examine (where possible) any information requested at our offices.

Our standard charges for reproducing information are set out in scale of fees document.

We will issue a ‘Fees Notice’ and will provide the requested information upon payment of the fee.  If the fee is not paid within 60 working days we will assume you no longer require the information and the request will be closed.

If you are not in a position to pay a fee, please contact us for further advice.

Refusing a request for Environmental Information

In rare cases, we may refuse a request where the cost of processing is unreasonable.  We may have regard to the statutory limit for processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act.  

If we consider there are exceptional circumstances, we may waive the charges of producing information.