LGOIMA Request
You can request information held by the Council using the procedures and timeframes set out in the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA).
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
The purpose of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 is:
- to make official information held by local authorities more freely available
- to provide for proper access by each person to official information relating to that person which is held by local authorities
- to provide for the admission of the public to meetings of local authorities
- to protect official information held by local authorities and the deliberations of local authorities to the extent consistent with the public interest and the preservation of personal privacy and
- to establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes.
To read the Official Information Act, please click here.
How to request information
The Ombudsman's Office has produced guidelines to assist you in making a request. These guidelines can be downloaded below.
Ombudsman Guide - Making official information requests (PDF, 839KB)
Can I be charged for making a request?
Please see the below information from page 16 of the Ombudsman Guide - Making official information requests.
If an agency decides to grant your request (whether by releasing all or some of the information you asked for) you may be asked to pay a charge. However:
- the agency can only charge for supplying information, not for the time taken to consider whether or not to grant your request;
- the charge must be reasonable'; and
- the decision to release information should also advise if a charge is to be made.
In considering whether to charge, an agency may consider the cost of the labour and materials involved in making the information available, including any particular costs associated with responding to an urgent request, such as a need to engage additional staff.
If an agency decides to charge you, it will usually write to you first to explain how much the charge is likely to be and how it has been calculated. The agency may request that the charge, or a deposit, be paid before it releases the information.
