Freedom of Information Act Advice

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 2004 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.

Disclosure Log

The Councils Disclosure Log lists our responses to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 which are of wider public interest.

Making a request

If you cannot locate the information you seek within our disclosure log please feel free to submit a request directly to the Council.

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.

Once we receive your request we are required to provide a response within 20 working days. You may wish to use the forms located on the Councils webpage for online services, specifically request it

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. For further information on exemptions please see the exemption procedure located in the document links section to the right of this web page.

Important Documents

For further information, policy documents can be found in the document Links section of this page which may be of use to you.

Submitting a request

Please post your requests to:

Freedom of Information Officer
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Civic Centre
Castle Street
Merthyr Tydfil
CF47 8AN

You can also email your request directly to the Freedom of Information Officer at FOI@merthyr.gov.uk

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

Freedom of Information Request

Environmental Information Request