Freedom of Information
Members of the public have the right to request information held by public authorities. Requests for information can be made under the Freedom of Information Act (2000), and/or Environmental Information Regulations (2004).
Before you make a request
Public authorities such as Uckfield Town Council are required to publish certain information about their services and/or activities.
Local authorities are required to publish information as part of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015. Uckfield Town Council presents this information on the Transparency on Spend webpage.
Uckfield Town Council also holds a Publication Scheme which sets out the information we already have available about our decisions, policies, procedures, and finances, along with where you can find them.
So check these documents/webpages before you make your request, as the information may already be available.
How to make a request
You can make a request by email to: townclerk@uckfieldtc.gov.uk
Or by post, to:
Freedom of Information (Town Clerk)
Uckfield Town Council
Civic Centre
Uckfield
TN22 1AE
How we respond to requests
When we respond to requests for information, Uckfield Town Council will work to the guidance of the Information Commissioner’s Office
This means:
- we will aim to respond to your request within 20 working days;
- in some cases an exemption may apply and a request may be refused if it would cost too much or take a member of staff too long to deal with the request;
- we are not obliged to deal with requests if the estimated cost of finding the information exceeds £450 (this is a standard calculation of 18 hours of work at a rate of £25 per hour);
- if we think that dealing with the request will cost more than the appropriate limit, we may charge a fee for providing the information; we will let you know if this is the case;
- we need not comply with vexatious or repeated requests, an exemption under the act may apply;
- some information may be exempt from disclosure under the act, where an exemption is applicable the public authority must adhere to a number of obligations;
Further information is available in the Town Council’s Handling ‘Access to Information’ Requests Policy.
