Freedom of Information

General Information

Introduction

South Ayrshire Council's main purpose is to represent, protect and promote the interests of the people of South Ayrshire. Against this background it is committed to the principles of openness and transparency in the conduct of its business as enshrined in the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOI Act). It is intended that this publication scheme, prepared under Section 23 of the FOI Act, will complement the Council's efforts to increase public awareness of the business of the Council, and stimulate local interest and participation in the democratic process.

The purpose of this publication scheme is to make it easier for the public to locate and access information published by South Ayrshire Council. This scheme will tell you what classes of information we routinely make available, where it can be accessed and whether you have to pay for it. It is a proactive commitment to ensure that the public can access up-to-date information on subjects that are of concern or interest.

Responsibility for the publication scheme

The officer with overall responsibility for the scheme is:

Dan Russell
Head of Legal and Administration Services
Department of Development, Safety and Regulation
South Ayrshire Council
County Buildings
Wellington Square
Ayr
KA7 1DR
Tel: 01292 612132
Email: dan.russell@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

The officer responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the scheme is:

Alison Nelson
Senior Administration Officer
Department of Development, Safety and Regulation
South Ayrshire Council
County Buildings
Wellington Square
Ayr
KA7 1DR
Tel: 01292 612462
Email: foi@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

About the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

The FOI Act introduces a public right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities. From 1 January 2005, if you ask to see information, we will have to provide you with that information, subject only to the limitations imposed by the Act and other legislation. While the Council already makes large amounts of information available to the public, it views the introduction of the FOI Act as a welcome opportunity to improve the way it informs the local communities it serves; and to improve the way it manages its information assets. The full implementation of the FOI Act in 2005 will help to make Council services more open, accessible and accountable to the public.

It should be noted that a request for information under the publication scheme is different from a Section 1 request for information under the Act. The purpose of the publication scheme is to ensure that a large volume of information is available without the need for a specific request. As this information is considered otherwise accessible by the methods described in Section 7, it is treated as exempt information for the purposes of the Act.