Freedom of Information
People have a right to know what Tewkesbury Town Council is doing, how we are doing it and how to get involved.
This includes the right to attend most meetings, with access to agendas and minutes on the website and background papers of these meetings and other information available by request.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 extends people’s rights and requires the Council to produce a Publication Scheme detailing the information that we publish regularly. To view the Publication please visit our policies page.
From 1st January 2005, anyone has a general right of access to different types of information held by the Council. People making a request may have to pay a fee for the information but will not be charged for the vast majority of requests. Only those that are very time consuming will be subject to a charge. You will be advised if there is a charge before any work is carried out and you will be offered guidance and advice on how to frame your request more specifically so that it avoids the need to make a charge.
Making a Request
If you wish to make a request for some information under the Freedom of Information Act, then your request:
- Should be in writing
- Should contain your name and address
- Should contain sufficient information to allow us to locate the information that you want
- Should be legible.
Once we have received a request, the Council has 20 working days to:
- Confirm whether we hold the information requested
- Advise whether you need to pay a fee for the information
- Advise who holds the information if we do not have it (If the information that you request is held by another public authority, then your request may be transferred to the correct body with your agreement).
There are a number of exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act in law. Sometimes, the Council may need to consider whether the information requested should be released or whether it is exempt. If the information requested is exempt then the Council has the right to refuse the request.
To make a request please contact the Town Clerk being as specific as possible when telling us what information you require. If it is not clear what information you are seeking, we may need to get in touch with you for further clarification.