Access To Information

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council is committed to openness in its operations. To this end, it is working to make as much information as possible accessible to the public. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the public the right of access to information that Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council holds and the public may also receive copies of that information.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004

The Environmental Information Regulations give the public a right of access to environmental information. Environmental information includes information about air, water, soil, land, plants and animals, energy, noise, waste and emissions. It also includes information about decisions, policies or activities that could affect these aspects of the environment.

MAKING A REQUEST

A request must be made in writing and addressed directly to the Council. All requests for information must include the following:

A contact name, telephone number and an address to which a reply can be sent.
Sufficient information which will easily identify exactly what information is being requested. In the circumstances where a request does not clearly identify what information is being requested, further clarification will be sought.
A preference as to how the information is to be supplied, for example in paper format, electronically etc.

A request can also be submitted in a number of different ways:

By letter
By email
By Fax
Or by completing an online request form

Once we receive your request we are required to provide a response within 20 working days

RECEIVING THE INFORMATION

Although we will always make information available wherever possible, there may be cases where there is a valid reason why we can’t provide it. It might simply be that we don’t hold the information that has been asked for, or one of the exemptions/exceptions set out in the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental Information Regulations might apply. If this is the case, we will provide a full explanation in writing as to why we are unable to provide the information.

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS

For further information the following policy documents may be of use:

Records Management Policy.pdf

PublicationSchemeEng.pdf

Requests for information policy.pdf

SUBMITTING A REQUEST

Please send your requests to:

The Legal Department
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
TY Keir Hardie
Riverside Court
Avenue De Clichy
Merthyr Tydfil
CF47 8LW

Alternatively you can submit a request by submitting an online request form using the following link:

Access to Information online request form

DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998

The Data Protection Act 1998 provides the public with the right to ask for, and be provided with, a copy of information held about him/her by, or on behalf of, the Council.

This right extends to cover any information, whether it is held on a computer, is on paper, or forms part of any other media. This right is known as the Subject Access Right.

The Data Protection Officer will log your request and write to you confirming receipt of the request. The council charges a £10 fee to process a request. It must be paid before any work is undertaken.

The Council is under a duty to provide the requested information within 40 calendar days from receipt of the subject access request and payment of the fee, explanation of any terms, codes or markers in the information that would otherwise be unintelligible will be given. The Council will also inform the public if we do not hold the requested information.

Once the information has been received, the Act gives the public a right to have any inaccuracies corrected or the personal information erased where it is no longer appropriate for the Council to keep it.