Aim of the Scheme

The aim of the Publication Scheme is to set out:

What information Humberside Police publishes or intends to publish as a matter of course
How we will publish this information
Whether the information will be available free of charge or on payment.

What is the Legal Framework for a Publication Scheme?

Individual Right of Access

Types of Information
Information concerning police investigations

What is the Legal Framework for a Publication Scheme?

Publication Schemes are a novel feature of the United Kingdom’s legislation on access to information held by public authorities. Their purpose is to be a means by which a public authority can make a significant amount of information available routinely, without waiting for someone specifically to request it.

Section 19(1) provides that it shall be the duty of every public authority to adopt and maintain a publication scheme, to publish information in accordance with its scheme and, from time to time, to review its publication scheme.

Section 19(2) of the Act sets out the requirements for a publication scheme as follows:

A publication scheme must:

specify classes of information that the public authority publishes or intends to publish;
specify the manner in which information of each class is, or is intended to be, published; and
specify whether the material is, or is intended to be, available to the public free of charge or on payment.

Section 19(3) states that "in adopting or reviewing a publication scheme, a public authority shall have regard to the public interest in allowing public access to information held by the authority and in the publication of reasons for decisions made by the public authority".

Individual Right of Access

Types of Information

Individuals already have the right of access to information about them ('personal data') which is held on computer, and in some paper files, under the Data Protection Act 1998 (see next page). As far as public authorities are concerned, Freedom of Information will extend this right to allow access to all the types of information held, whether personal or non-personal. This right will come into effect in January 2005.

The Act does, however, set out some exemptions to this right and it also places a number of obligations on public authorities in respect of the way in which they provide information. Subject to the exemptions, anyone making a request has the right to be told whether information exists and the right to receive the information. In general, a response must be provided within 20 working days.

There is also a duty on public authorities to provide advice or assistance to anyone seeking information (for example in order to explain what is readily available or to clarify what is wanted).

Further information with regard to Individual Rights of Access will be provided on this website nearer to 2005. Such information will include contact details, how to obtain assistance, the appeals procedure and so on.

Information concerning police investigations

Police investigations are conducted with due regard to the confidentiality and privacy of victims, witnesses and suspects. Such investigations may also frequently involve the use of policing tactics or techniques that, if widely known, would hinder the ability of the police service to prevent and detect crime. It is further recognised that the release of information concerning current investigations may compromise any subsequent court proceedings.

For these reasons the police service will, in most cases, seek to apply an exemption to prevent the release of information concerning investigations when requested under the Freedom of Information Act, 2000.

Whilst adopting this general position, there is full recognition that in some cases there will be significant and compelling issues of public interest that require the disclosure of information. However, to override issues of personal privacy and possible harm to individuals involved in the investigation, this public interest must be significantly more than mere curiosity or interest in a particular investigation.

In order to ensure that these public interest issues are fully considered, all applications for information concerning investigations will be considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the requirements of the Act.

Data Protection

Introduction

The Data Protection Act 1998 was brought into force on 1 March 2000 and works in two ways. It gives individuals certain rights. It also says those who record and use personal information must be open about how the information is used and must follow the eight principles of 'good information handling'.

Principles

Anyone processing personal data must comply with the eight enforceable principles of good practice. These state that data must be:

Processed fairly and lawfully
Processed for limited purposes
Adequate, relevant and not excessive
Accurate and up-to-date
Not kept longer than necessary
Processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights
Secure
Not transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area without adequate protection.