1. What is the Freedom of Information Act?

1.1 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2004 (FOISA) came into force on 1 st January 2005 and provide for a right of access by any person to recorded information which is held by Public Authorities and publicly-owned companies. It will also apply to organisations which are designated by Order as a Public Authority. Such organisations could include those organisation exercising functions of a public nature or who provide any services under contract to a Public Authority whose provision is a function of the Public Authority. No such Order has yet been made.

1.2 For more information about Freedom of Information, please see:

1.2.1 The Information Commissioner:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/freedom_of_information.aspx

1.2.2 The Scottish Information Commissioner:
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/ScottishInformationCommissioner.asp

1.2.3 The Ministry of Justice FOI Website:
http://www.foi.gov.uk/

2. What are the Environmental Information Regulations?

2.1 The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 ( EIR) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EISR) came into force on 1 st January 2005 and provide for a right of access by any person to environmental information which is held by Public Authorities, certain organisations with public responsibilities in relation to the environment or certain organisations which exercise functions of a public nature in relation to the environment.

2.2 For more information about EIR, please see:

2.2.1The Information Commissioner: http://www.ico.gov.uk/what_we_cover/environmental_information_regulation.aspx

2.2.2 The Scottish Information Commissioner:
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/ScottishInformationCommissioner.asp

2.2.3 The Department for the Environment: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/opengov/eir/index.htm

3. Is APSE a public authority subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)?

3.1 No.

3.2 APSE is not a Public Authority listed in the Act. Nor is APSE a publicly owned company under the Act as APSE is an unincorporated association.

3.3 APSE does not have any public responsibilities in relation to the environment and does not exercise any functions of a public nature in relation to the environment and is not therefore subject to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 or the Environmental Information ( Scotland) Regulations 2004 ( EIR).

4. Does APSE have to comply with the FOIA or EIR?

4.1 No. As APSE is not a Public Authority it does not need to comply with the FOIA or EIR.

APSE Members who are local authorities are Public Authorities listed in Schedule 1 of the FOIA or Scottish Public Authorities listed in Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). They are also Public Authorities under the EIR.

6.1 Comparative PN Member Information

Comparative data about other PN Members is provided by APSE to PN Members in confidence in accordance with the PN Membership Terms and Conditions. Disclosure of comparative data without the consent of APSE and the other PN Members concerned may result in a breach of confidence. APSE therefore recommends that where requests for comparative data about other PN Members are received that the Public Authority liases with APSE and the PN Member concerned and obtains the consent of APSE and the other PN Member before disclosing the information. If consent is not provided, the Public Authority may need to consider whether in the circumstances of the case, the information is exempt from disclosure. Please see "How do I Contact APSE about FOI/EIR Requests" and "How do I Contact other PN Members"?

6.2 PN Information about a PN Member

The body of information generated for each PN Member in relation to the various service areas (which includes Performance Reports, Performance Indicators Standings Table, Summary Reports and comparator reports) is the proprietary intellectual property of APSE and is licensed to each PN Member in accordance with the PN Membership Terms and Conditions for internal non-commercial business purposes only. Some of this information is also protected by confidentiality obligations. Disclosure of such information may substantially prejudice APSE's commercial interests and may constitute a breach of confidence. APSE therefore recommends that the PN Members liase with APSE in relation to the extent of any information which may be exempt from disclosure on these grounds. Please see "How do I Contact APSE about FOI/EIR Requests"?

6.3 PN Information generally

Where a request is made for PN Information that APSE may publish or make available outside the PN membership community in due course, APSE recommends that the PN Member contact APSE to discuss whether this is the case, when it is intended that this information is published and whether it is reasonable to withhold the information until then. Please see "How do I Contact APSE about FOI/EIR Requests".

6.4 All information produced by APSE

APSE owns the intellectual property rights (including trademarks, database rights, copyright and design rights) in all information produced by APSE including all Performance Networks Material and Performance Network Data. Although the Act provides access to information held by Public Authorities, it does not permit use of such information where it is protected by intellectual property rights.

Where APSE information is to be disclosed by a Member in response to a request, it is important therefore that Members highlight that the information is protected by intellectual property rights and that therefore the recipient is not entitled to use the information provided without the prior written consent of APSE.

APSE would therefore request that Members include all APSE existing copyright statements in any copies of information provided to an applicant and that the following statement is included in a covering letter or e-mail which accompanies the information to be disclosed:

"The information enclosed has been produced by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) and is protected by intellectual property rights owned by APSE. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 only provides a right of access to information held by public authorities. It does not provide a right to use the information. This means that the enclosed information may not be used, copied, reproduced, disseminated, distributed, published (including over the internet), broadcast, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of APSE. Any such use will be a breach of APSE's intellectual property rights and may result in legal action."

7. I am a member. how do I contact other PN members about FOI/ EIR requests?

Please contact the relevant PN Member Contact as set out in the Contents page of PN Performance Reports. If no Contact details are provided, please contact APSE.

8. I am a member. How do I contact APSE about FOI/ EIR requests?

If you receive a request for information about APSE or about any APSE or PN Information then please contact Debbie Johns at djohns@apse.org.uk or at the following address:

Association of Public Service Excellence 2 nd Floor
Washbrook House Lancastrian Office Centre
32 Talbot Road
Old Trafford Manchester
M32 0FP
Tel: 0161 772 1810
Fax: 0161 772 1811

9. What are the re-use of public sector information regulations?

9.1 The Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 (the Re-Use Regulations) provide a right to request a licence to Re-Use documents created by Public Sector Bodies which are made available by the Public Sector Body for Re-Use. The documents which are made available for Re-Use are set out in the Public Sector Body's Asset List.

9.2 For further information about the Re-Use Regulations, please see the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI): http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/psi-regulations/index.htm

10. Is APSE a public body covered by the re-use of public sector information regulations?

As APSE is an unincorporated association whose members are local authorities, it is a Public Sector Body under the Re-Use Regulations.

11. Are APSE members subject to the re-use of public sector information regulations?

Yes. However, as APSE own the Intellectual Property Rights in documents provided to Members, including PN information, APSE information held by Members is not covered by the Re-Use Regulations. Members should not therefore make any APSE information available for Re-Use as to do so will breach APSE's Intellectual Property Rights and in the case of PN Information, will also be a breach of the PN Membership Terms and Conditions and Website Terms and Conditions. Such a breach could lead to legal action.

12. What is re-use?

13. What information does APSE make available for re-use under the regulations?

APSE does not currently make any information available for Re-Use because all of the documents which it produces are used only for the initial purposes for which they are produced within APSE's public task. If in the future APSE chooses to make any information available for Re-Use it will set out what is available in an Asset List on its website, together with the licence terms and any applicable charges.

14. Who should I contact if i want to request information from APSE?

Although APSE is not subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and does not currently make any of its Information available for re-use, if you would like to request any information from APSE, we may still be able to provide this to you. Please therefore contact Cheryl Walker at cwalker@apse.org.uk or contact us at the following address:

Association of Public Service Excellence
2 nd Floor
Washbrook House
Lancastrian Office Centre
32 Talbot Road
Old Trafford
Manchester
M32 0FP
Tel: 0161 772 1810
Fax: 0161 772 1811