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Freedom of information

Find out more about The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and how you can access information held by the council.

Overview

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) gives you the right to request information held by the council, subject to exemptions.

It doesn’t give you the right to council documents, records, or information on other people. This means that there will be times when only some parts of a document or record will be made available to you.

If you are seeking information about yourself, you already have the right of access under the Data Protection Act. Find out the categories of information the council is likely to collect.

Before making your information request

The council already makes a lot of information publicly available. We are committed to being transparent with how we spend public money and also publishing open data in line with the Local Government Transparency Code.

Before submitting a FOI request please search to see if the information you require is already published online, either in the disclosure log or in existing data categories.

Existing data categories

Document
Gender and BAME pay gap report 2018/19

 

Document
Parking spaces
Parking spaces PDF, 68.53 KB, 1 page

 

Document
Parking places reserve account.pdf

 

Document
Grants awarded
Grants awarded PDF, 110.71 KB, 1 page

 

Document
Trade union facilities time report_non-schools

 

Document
Trade union facilities time report_schools

 

Document
Transparency data local authority land 2020.pdf

 

Document
Counter fraud work
Counter fraud work PDF, 63.96 KB, 1 page

 

Document
Social housing asset valuation
Social housing asset valuation PDF, 164.54 KB, 8 pages

 

Accounts, budget and procurement 

Constitution

Executive pay information 

If the information you require is not already publicly available the easiest way to make an FOI request is via our online form. Anyone can request information under the Act regardless of age, nationality or location.

Making a request

You can submit your request online, or by email or post.

Make a request

Email: [email protected]

Post: Information Management Team (Information Services), 64 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QP.

Your request must include:

  • your name
  • your address
  • a detailed description of the information you wish to obtain
  • any preferences for the format for receiving the information

The council does not have to respond to broad requests for information. Please make your request as specific as possible, and ensure that the description of information you require is clear and detailed. This helps us locate the information you are seeking faster.

If we don’t have enough information to find what you want, we may come back to you with more questions.

How long does it take?

Your request will be acknowledged within five working days.

The council has up to 20 working days to comply with your request, as set out in the The Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We will consider your request, and let you know if we can provide the information you requested or explain why we can't.

Checking the status of your request

Before you contact us check how long it has been since you made the request:

  • if it is less than 20 working days please don't contact us
  • if is has been more than 20 days please email [email protected] with your reference number and the date the request was submitted

Cost

If the work required to retrieve the requested information costs more than £450, we are allowed to charge you for it.

The council also reserves the right to charge for disbursements eg. photocopying and postage.

If we intend to charge a fee, we will tell you first and you then have 3 months in which to pay. Once we get the fee, we will respond to your request.

If the cost of meeting your request exceeds the appropriate limit in the regulations, we are not required to meet your request. If you refuse to pay the fee, the council can refuse to supply the information.

These fees do not apply to the normal charges made for some publications as set out in our Publication Scheme.

If your request is refused

A request for information may only be refused if:

If your request is refused, we will explain why and give you details of how to apply for an internal review of this decision.

Making a complaint

We will always try to help you with queries and requests for information.

If you disagree with any exemptions applied to your request for information, or you are not satisfied with how we have handled your request, you are entitled to ask for an internal review of the council’s response. 

If you would like to request an internal review please contact the Information Management Team by email at [email protected] or at the address provided on the response letter. 

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome having gone through the council’s Internal Review  procedure, you can ask the Information Commissioner to review the decision.

Performance data

Document
FOI responses January to March 2022
Document
FOI responses October to December 2021
Document
FOI responses July to September 2021
Document
FOI responses April to June 2021
Document
FOI responses January to March 2021
Document
FOI responses October to December 2020
Document
FOI responses July to September 2020

 

Document
FOI responses April to June 2020

 

Document
FOI responses January to March 2020

 

Document
FOI responses April to June 2019

 

Document
FOI responses July to September 2019

 

Document
FOI responses October to December 2019

About the publication scheme

Under the Freedom of Information Act, public authorities are required to have a publication scheme.  A publication scheme is a guide which tells people about the broad classes of information that we will routinely make available to the public. It includes information held in any form for example, websites, paper files and public registers.

We have adopted the Information Commissioner's Model Publication Scheme for local authorities.

Document
Model publication scheme.pdf
Model publication scheme.pdf PDF, 293.03 KB, 4 pages

The Information Commissioner is an independent regulator who enforces and advises upon the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations and has produced and approved this scheme.

Have your say

We hope the publication scheme meets your needs whether you are a visitor, resident, student or local business.

However, if you can't find what you are looking for, let us know and we'll try to improve it. We also welcome suggestions on how to improve the publications themselves.

Please send any queries, comments or complaints to the Knowledge and Information Management Team. All the contacts listed below can also post you a printed copy of the adopted publication scheme.

Freedom of Information Team

If you have a complaint about any aspect of this scheme or about the performance of Westminster City Council in dealing with your requests for information please contact the FOI Team.

Email: [email protected]

Postal address:

Information management Team (Information Services)

64 Victoria Street

SW1E 6QP

Other contacts

Reference copies of the publication scheme can also be obtained from Westminster libraries.

Information Commissioner

Responsibility for overseeing the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 rests with the Information Commissioner who is an independent public official responsible to Parliament. You can contact the Information Commissioner for advice, guidance or to make a complaint directly.

Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: [email protected]

Published: 17 December 2020

Last updated: 5 April 2023