Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Guide to Information published by North Ayrshire Licensing Board

This Guide to Information sets out how North Ayrshire Licensing Board makes information available through the Model Publication Scheme. It provides you with details of the publication scheme, how you can access this information, our policies on charging, copyright and records management, and how to request information not covered by the scheme.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides individuals with a right to request any recorded information held by Scotland’s public authorities. Anyone can use this right, and information can only be withheld where FOISA expressly permits it.

Section 23 of FOISA requires that all Scottish public authorities maintain a publication scheme. A publication scheme sets out the types of information that a public authority routinely makes available.

North Ayrshire Licensing Board has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2013 developed and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Commissioner is responsible for enforcing FOISA.

The model scheme can be viewed online or by contacting the Scottish Information Commissioner at the address below.

Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St, Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS

The Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme 2013 is designed to ensure that authorities meet their obligation to take account of the public interest in providing access to the information that they hold which relates to the:

• services they provide
• costs of those services
• standard of those services
• facts that inform the important decisions they take
• reasoning that informs their decisions

North Ayrshire Licensing Board has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2013 without amendment. We have therefore made a commitment to publish all information which we hold which falls within the classes of information in the scheme. The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on the North Ayrshire Council website via the A-Z.

The Board aims to be open and accountable and to publish information proactively wherever possible. We support the Act's underpinning principles by encouraging behaviour which is open, transparent and increases public participation. We also consider the types of information which are requested from us routinely and whether they could be published by us more proactively.

If you would like to access information not published under the scheme, you can still request it from us under FOISA or, in the case of environmental information, the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EI(S)R). For further information on accessing information we do not publish, see 'How to access information which we do not publish'.

The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on the North Ayrshire Council website via the A-Z. The Council's website address is https://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk

We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy, although there may be a charge for this.

Information listed in our A-Z is available to download from our website. Alternatively, you can use our website’s “Search” facility. If you are still having trouble finding any information set out in the A-Z, please contact us using the feedback facility on the website.

If the information you seek is listed in our A-Z but you are unable to download it, we can usually send it to you by email. When requesting information from us, it is helpful to provide a telephone number so that we can telephone you to clarify details, if necessary. Please send your enquiry to licensing@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

Information listed in our A-Z is also available in paper copy form, although there may be a charge for it. Please address your request to: North Ayrshire Licensing Board, North Ayrshire Council Licensing Department, Legal Services, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE

When writing to us to request information, please include:

• your name and address
• full details of the information or documents you would like to receive
• any payment (if you know the applicable fee)
• a telephone number can be helpful so we can telephone you to clarify any details, if necessary.

If the information you are seeking is not available through this website, then you may wish to request it from us.

For details on how to request information held by the Board, see 'How to access information'.

To make a request for personal data held by the Board, see 'How to request personal data'.

FOISA and EI(S)R provides rights to access information that the Board holds. You do not have to say why you want the information. We will advise and assist you in making a request and provide the information within 20 working days.

Some types of information can be kept back for good reasons, but you will be given those reasons. If you do not agree with our approach, you have the right to ask for a review. This will be carried out by an independent officer within the Council. If you are still dissatisfied, you can appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Requests for information are best submitted in writing but verbal requests are also accepted.

You can request information by sending an email to licensing@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

You can also send a request by writing to:

Licensing Solicitor, Legal Services, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE

You have the right to access the personal data we hold about you by making a Subject Access Request. Such requests must be in writing and require payment of a £10 fee. When making your request you should provide proof of your identity.

Your request should be sent to: Licensing Solicitor, Legal Services, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE

All information published in this guide can be accessed either through the North Ayrshire Council website, or by asking us for it.

Our aim in maintaining this publication scheme is to be as open as possible. You should note that there may be limited circumstances where information will be withheld from publication. Information will only be withheld, however, where FOISA (or in the case of environmental information, the EI(S)R), expressly permits this. Information may be withheld, for example, where its disclosure would breach the law of confidentiality, harm an organisation’s commercial interests, or endanger the protection of the environment. Information may also be withheld if it is another person’s personal information, and its release would breach the data protection legislation.

Where we withhold information we will remove it or redact it before publication and explain why. Even where information is withheld it may, in many cases, be possible to provide copies with the withheld information edited out.

If you wish to complain about any information which has been withheld from you, please contact us.

Unless stated in the Charges for information available only through request Section, all information contained within our scheme is available from us free of charge where it can be downloaded from our website or where it can be sent to you electronically by email.

We reserve the right to impose charges for providing information in paper copy or on digital format such as compact disc. Charges will reflect the actual costs of reproduction and postage to the Board, as set out below.

In the event that a charge is to be levied, you will be advised of the charge and how it has been calculated. Information will not be provided to you until payment has been received.

Where charges are applied, photocopied information will be charged at a standard rate of 10p per A4 side of paper (black and white copy) and 30p per A4 side of paper (colour copy).

We will pass on postage charges to the requester at the cost to the Board of sending the information by second class post.

We are required by the Equality Act 2010 to take steps to meet the needs of people who require assistance to access information. This means making reasonable adjustments to our practices to ensure that information is physically accessible. This may, for example, involve producing information in a larger script or different format where it is practicable to do so. The costs of this will be met by the Board.

The Board does not charge anyone for making requests for, nor for providing, information under FOISA, but we may refuse to deal with a request where we estimate that it will cost more than £600 to locate, retrieve and provide the information.

The Board does not charge anyone for making requests for, nor for providing, environmental information under the EI(S)R, up to a limit of £600. Thereafter we may charge the full cost of providing the information.

In the event that we decide to charge for the full cost of a request under the EI(S)R costing over £600, we will issue you with notification of the charge and how it has been calculated. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.

Charges are calculated on the basis of the actual cost to the authority of locating, retrieving and providing the environmental information.

• Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying, 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying.
• Postage is charged at actual rate for second class mail.
• Staff time is calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate.

North Ayrshire Licensing Board holds the copyright for the vast majority of information in the publication scheme. All of this information can be copied or reproduced (but not reused) without our formal permission, provided it is copied or reproduced accurately, is not used in a misleading context, and provided that the source of the material is identified.

The publication scheme may however contain information where the copyright holder is not North Ayrshire Licensing Board. In most cases the copyright holder will be obvious from the documents. In cases where the copyright is unclear, however, it is the responsibility of the person accessing the information to locate and seek the permission of the copyright holder before reproducing the material or in any other way breaching the rights of the copyright holder.

The Board, via North Ayrshire Council, has in place Record Retention Schedules in respect of all documents that it creates and holds. These Schedules set out the length of time for which different types of records must be held. This means that whilst FOISA is retrospective, it is only possible to provide copies of records that are still in existence.

Some the Board’s records are selected to be permanently preserved as part of the Council’s archive. The contents of archives are not included in the publication scheme, although supporting information such as lists of content and guidance to finding information are. However, the contents of our archives are made accessible to the public and requests for access should be directed to Ayrshire Archives.

Ayrshire Archives is supported by North Ayrshire Council, East Ayrshire Council and South Ayrshire Council. While inspection of historical information is free, there may be a charge for providing photocopies of documents or for conducting research on your behalf.

Further information is available from: Ayrshire Archives Centre, Watson Peat, SAC Auchincruive, Ayr KA6 5HW Tel: 01292 521819 Email: archives@south-ayrshire.gov.uk Internet: www.ayrshirearchives.org.uk

Our aim is to make our guide to information as user-friendly as possible, and we hope that you can access all the information we publish with ease. We are obliged to review our guide to information from time to time. As a result, we welcome feedback on how we can develop it further. If you would like to comment on any aspect of this guide to information, then please contact us. You may, for example wish to tell us about: • Other information that you would like to see included • Whether you found it easy to use • Whether you found the guide useful • Whether our staff were helpful • Other ways in which our guide can be improved.

Please send any comments, suggestions or complaints to:

Licensing Solicitor, Legal Services, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE

Email: licensing@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

You have legal rights to access information under this scheme and a right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner if you are dissatisfied with our response. These rights apply only to information requests made in writing or another recordable format. Verbal requests for environmental information carry similar rights. If you are unhappy with our responses to your request you can ask us to review it and if you are still unhappy, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Commissioner’s website has a guide to this process. The enquiry service operates on Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. The office can be contacted at: Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9DS

Tel: 01334 464610 Email: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info Website: https://www.foi.scot/