Freedom of Information (FOI)

The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to request information held by public authorities, unless there are good reasons to keep it confidential.

It aims to make public sector bodies more accountable and transparent and helps people to better understand how we carry out our duties, why we make the decisions we do and how we spend public money.

Request

You can make a request for any recorded information held by the council by using this online form.

If you are requesting your own personal data or that of someone you represent please visit our requesting personal data page and use that form instead.

Alternatively you can put your request in writing via email to [email protected] or by post.

For information requests to be valid they must:

• be made in writing (typically letter, email or online form)
• include contact details (full name and contact address or email)
• describe the information being requested in enough detail to allow it to be located
• be specific enough to allow the response to be made within the Appropriate Limit and Fees Regulations (18 hours of officer time to collate, prepare and respond)

However, requesters do not have to mention the Act or direct their request to a designated member of staff.

North Northamptonshire Council is a newly established organisation combining the previous district and borough councils of Corby, Kettering, East Northamptonshire and Wellingborough along with Northamptonshire County Council.

If your request relates to a prior district or borough council service please indicate which geographic area your request relates to in order to help us respond promptly with the relevant information. If you do not state either the geographic area or North Northamptonshire as a whole we reserve the right to clarify this before proceeding with your enquiry.

You should then expect to receive a response within 20 working days. Only in exceptional circumstances will a request be extended and then only because of complex exemption considerations or deliberations.

When the council can refuse a request

There are a number of exemptions which allow the council to refuse to provide certain information. Examples include:

• to protect personal data or commercial interest
• to prevent causing harm or distress to an individual or other party
• where the information is already accessible to you elsewhere

Some requests may also exceed the cost limit of £450 (18 hours of officer time), in which case we would contact you to assist you in streamlining your request.

When the council does not release the information we will always explain the reasoning and explain our internal review process and your right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Last updated 09 November 2023