How to make a request to re-use information
To be valid, a request must:
- be in writing emailed to dpo@basingstoke.gov.uk
- state your name and address
- specify the information that you want to re-use.
Our response time
We must respond to your request within 20 working days.
Sometimes it may be necessary to extend the time limit, where this happens we will tell you before the end of the 20 working day deadline why we are extending the time limit and the date on which we expect to be able to respond.
Responding to a request means:
- making the requested information available for re-use, or
- setting out the conditions on which re-use will be permitted.
We don't always grant permission to re-use information
The regulations allow us to refuse requests for one or more of the following reasons:
- The intellectual property rights of the information are owned by a third party. An example would be architectural drawings which we have commissioned from an architect who retains the copyright.
- The information is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2005.
- The information falls outside of the council’s statutory functions.
If we refuse your request for re-use we must inform you in writing the reason for refusal.
We must also advise you of your rights of an internal review and of appeal.
Where the refusal is because intellectual property rights are owned by a third party we have to tell you who owns the relevant intellectual property rights, where we know that information; or the name of the person from whom we obtained the information.
Processing your request
Where possible we will process your request electronically and also make the information you wish to re-use available electronically.
However, we do not have to create or adapt information in order to comply with a request for re-use; nor are we required to provide an extract from information where it would involve disproportionate effort, or continue to produce a certain type of information just so that someone else can re-use it.
How you can re-use information
We publish our data under the Open Government Licence (version 3). This explains what you can and cannot do with the data we provide.
If someone else wants to re-use the same information
Once we have responded to a request for information we publish this on our disclosure log. This means the information is available for the public to view and re-use as required.
Asset list
An asset is any information that we produce that is of interest or value to the organisation itself and potentially to others.
The first step to re-using public sector information is to know what significant information is available for re-use. Some local authorities do this via the publication of an asset list or register. We are not intending to produce a separate information asset register, however, all significant information registered within the council’s Publication Scheme and as part of the Government's Transparency requirements (with the exception of information where charges apply) are available for re-use.