Freedom of Information

Justices of the Peace Advisory Committee Publication Scheme

Publication Scheme under section 23(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

1. Introduction

Welcome to the South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee Publication Scheme. This is a guide to the information routinely made available by South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee as required under Section 23 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by Public Authorities, other than personal information, which continues to be managed under the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

As part of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, all Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees in Scotland must have an approved publication scheme in place by 30 November 2004.

This publication scheme sets out what information the South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee [referred to as "the Committee"] publishes or intends to publish as a matter of course; how and when this information will be published; and whether this information is available free of charge or on payment.

The Committee is committed to the principles of openness and transparency in its activities and has sought to meet its obligations under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 by including as much information as possible within this publication scheme.

From 30 November, 2004 everyone will have access to the scheme on the South Ayrshire Council website (www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/foi) and in hard copy at all libraries and Council offices, details of which are given at Section 9 below.

In adopting the Scheme, the Committee has regard to the public interest in:

(a) allowing public access to information held by it and in particular to information which consists of facts, or analyses, on the basis of which decisions of importance to the public have been made by it;

(b) the publication of reasons for decisions made by it.

As required by Section 23(2) of the 2002 Act, the Scheme specifies:

  • the classes of information which the Committee publishes, or intends to publish;
  • the manner in which information of each class is, or is intended to be, published; and
  • whether the published information is, or is intended to be, available to the public free of charge.

2. About the committee

Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees (JPACs) were established in 1949, based on the recommendations of a report published in 1948 by the Royal Commission on Justices of the Peace.

A Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee was established for each local authority area in Scotland, and since local authority reorganisation in 1996, the Committee for this area has been known as the South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee.

The Clerk to the Committee is known as the Secretary to the Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee and Dan Russell, Head of Legal and Administration Services, South Ayrshire Council, holds this position. Nevertheless, the Committee is a completely separate legal entity from the Council. The members of the Committee are:

Major Richard Y. Henderson TD
Mr. G. Rennie
Mr. K. G. Dickie
Mrs. Nancy Mortimer
Mr. D. Kiltie
Mrs. Anne C. Brodie
Mr. John McIlwraith

The Committee's term of reference is to keep under review the strength of the Commission of the Peace in the area of South Ayrshire, to advise the Scottish Ministers of any need that may arise for the appointment of new justices in their areas and to submit for consideration the names of persons whom they regard as suitable for appointment. The Secretary of Commissions for Scotland issues guidance on the role of JPACs. Further information on the Secretary for Commissions for Scotland can be found at: www.scotland.gov.uk

The Committee meets at Ayr on dates set by the Secretary.

All Committee administration takes place at:

South Ayrshire Council
County Buildings
Wellington Square
Ayr
KA7 1DR

Tel: 01292 612132
Fax: 01292 612188

3. Formulating the scheme

This publication scheme is a guide to the information that the Committee routinely publishes. The term publication is not limited to information contained in a bound or printed form (e.g. brochure or a book). Many different forms of information (e.g. Web based information) are just as much part of the publication scheme as a mass-produced leaflet.

The purpose of this publication scheme is to ensure that a significant amount of information is available without the need for a specific request. The Committee intends that its scheme will encourage the publication of more information than it is required to publish under existing legislation and to develop a greater culture of openness.

The Committee's publication scheme follows a model scheme for all JPACs, which has been approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The draft model scheme was prepared by SOLAR (The Society of Local Authority Lawyers and Administrators in Scotland) and was circulated widely for consultation and comment. The consultation exercise resulted in the finalised model scheme, which aims to provide a guide to the composition and work of all JPACs and to be easily understood.

4. Responsibility for the scheme

The person responsible for the overall and day-to-day management of the scheme is:

Dan Russell
Secretary to the South Ayrshire JP Advisory Committee
South Ayrshire Council
County Buildings
Wellington Square
Ayr
KA7 1DR

Tel: 01292 612132
Fax: 01292 612188
Email: dan.russell@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

5. Exemptions

The Committee's aim is to be as open as possible. However, information may be withheld from any of the classes of information listed below where we consider that disclosure may seriously prejudice law enforcement, legal proceedings or our regulatory or enforcement activity or where law otherwise prohibits the disclosure. We may also withhold information, which may seriously prejudice the commercial interests of any person or organisation. We may also withhold information that is personal information under the Data Protection Act 1998.

In these cases, we will withhold the information and indicate why the information is being withheld. Even where an exemption exists, it may nevertheless be possible to provide copies with the exempted information edited out. If you wish to complain about information, which is being withheld from you, please read the Complaints and Feedback section (section 11).

There are certain categories of exempt information which, although they will not be made publicly available under the Scheme, may be requested under Section 1 of the 2002 Act from 1 January 2005 onwards.

6. What information is covered by the scheme?

Unless otherwise stated, all information listed within the scheme relates to the current version. The Committee will undertake regular reviews of its publication scheme and the information contained in it. As information becomes redundant or is superseded it will be replaced or removed from the scheme.

7. Archiving Policy

The Committee's archiving policy is as follows:

Document type Retention period
Committee agendas, reports and minutes Permanent
Correspondence files and similar documents 6 years

8. Copyright

Information obtained under the Scheme (whether that information is in electronic or hard copy format, text or graphics and regardless of whether the copyright symbol (©) appears) may not be copied or reproduced without the Committee’s permission.

Where information is obtained under the Scheme and the copyright holder is a party other than the Committee, the consent of the party holding the copyright should be sought before such information is copied or reproduced. Any queries as to copyright should be referred to the Secretary to the Committee whose contact details are set out in section 4.

9. Accessing information under the scheme

Online: Some information listed in our publication scheme is available from the South Ayrshire Council website: www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk

By e-mail: If the information you request is not available on this website, but is listed in our publication scheme, we will send it to you by email, wherever practicable. Email: dan.russell@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

By phone: Information can be requested over the telephone [Tel. 01292 612132]. Please provide full contact details, including a telephone number, so that we can telephone to clarify any details, if necessary.

By post: Most information is also available in a paper copy form. Please address your request to the Secretary to the South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee whose contact details are set out in section 4. When requesting information, please include the following details:

  • Your name and address
  • The information or documents you want to see

Personal visits: For some classes of information, you will need to make an appointment to view the information. Please contact the Secretary to the South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee whose contact details are set out in section 4.

If you require information in a particular format, for example requiring a copy in larger print, Braille, another language or audio cassette, the Committee will take all reasonable steps to meet your request.

Paper copies of the publication scheme will be made available at all South Ayrshire Council offices and libraries. An electronic version will also be available on the Council's web site at www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk

If you have difficulty determining the information you want to see, please contact the Secretary to the South Ayrshire Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee who will be happy to help (contact details in section 4).

10. Charging policy

The information in the scheme is available free of charge. However, where information is printed off or copied to meet an enquiry, the Committee reserves the right to make a copying and postal charge. You will be told about any photocopying charges at the time of your request but this will generally be at the rate of 10 pence per A4 sheet.

There is no charge for inspecting documents and free Internet access is also available in local Council libraries, though there may be a charge for printing from the computer.

11. Complaints

Any complaints about the Scheme should be directed to the Secretary to the Committee whose contact details are set out in section 4.

If the Secretary is unable to resolve any complaint, you can complain to the Scottish Information Commissioner who oversees the 2002 Act and whose contact details are set out below. From 1 January 2005 when the general right of access comes into force, there will be a formal appeal mechanism when information is withheld. Further details on this will be available on the Commissioner's website at www.itspublicknowledge.info before this date.

The Scottish Information Commissioner may be contacted at:

Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Tel: 01334464611
Email: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info

12. Feedback

Comments on the Scheme, including whether the information therein is easy to locate and whether there is any additional information that should be made available through the Scheme, should be directed to the Secretary to the Committee whose contact details are set out in section 4.

MS Word file Justices of the Peace Advisory Committee Publication Scheme (53KB)