Freedom of Information

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 (opens new window) was introduced to make all levels of Government more open to the public. 

The FOI act allows public access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities. The Act allows access to information regardless of when the information was created or how long it has been held, and also sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities.

Visit the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website for more FOI details:

• what is the FOI Act? (opens new window)
• FOI guidance and self-assessment toolkit (opens new window)

Published information

For information held by the council we use a publication scheme which aims to increase the public's awareness of the work undertaken within the Council and by its partners.

Promoting transparency in the way decisions are reached and providing clear information about the Council's policies and processes aims to foster a spirit of trust with the public and other organisations and to encourage greater interest and participation in the democratic process. Where information is not published through this scheme, we promise to deal with individual requests for information in a timely manner and to provide advice and assistance if required.

We include as much information in the Publication Scheme as possible. You can also view our Freedom of Information policy (PDF, 143 KB)(opens new window). If you cannot find what you are looking for, you can make a request for the information that isn't published under this scheme.

Submit an FOI

Before submitting a freedom of information (FOI) request, please review our:

• exemptions page to check your request is valid
• published Business Rates FOIs
• publication scheme, to see what information is already available on this website
• FOI fees and charges.

Submit a Freedom of Information request

The FOIA team can also be contacted at this email address foi@sholland.gov.uk

FOI requests are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the FOI Act. 

Data we don't hold

If your FOI request relates to one of the following services (not an exhaustive list), you'll need to visit the Lincolnshire County Council website (opens new window):

• Schools and education
• Children's services
• Highways, road and transport
• Social Services
• Libraries
• Adoption and fostering.

FOI fees and charges

Wherever possible, we will provide information free of charge. However, in some cases this is not possible.

The Council is entitled to charge for information under Section 9 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and also the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. The Council will issue a Fees Notice which must be paid within three months. If no payment is received, we will close the request for information.

Details of our charges can be found within our publication scheme guidance (PDF, 511 KB)(opens new window). A copy of our charging guidance is also available upon request.