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Contact: |
David Howells, Director of Corporate Services Tel: 023 8064 4000 Ext 203 |
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1 |
Introduction |
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1.1 |
The Freedom of Information Act comes into force on the 1 January 2005. This Act has been described as potentially the most onerous piece of legislation for a decade. |
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1.2 |
The Authority needs to demonstrate its commitment to full compliance with the Act and is ultimately responsible for determining and executing the policies that should apply to all information held by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service. |
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1.3 |
A policy statement confirming the Authority's commitment to the expectations and requirements of public authority roles and responsibilities and procedures for monitoring, review and evaluation is set out in Appendix 1 for approval and adoption. |
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2 |
Risk Assessment |
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2.1 |
This is an important piece of legislation which the Authority must comply with. The penalty of not putting into place good practices in terms of information management are initially an Enforcement Notice and Powers of Entry. If the Authority fails to comply the Commissioner can take procedings to the High Court. Non-compliance is dealt with as if the Authority has committed contempt of court, punishment for which are substantial fines or maximum penalty of two-years imprisonment for the accountable persons of the Authority. Enforcement Notices or attendance at court would obviously also result in public embarrassment for the Authority. |
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3 |
Resource Implications |
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3.1 |
A number of practical actions are underway to ensure that the Authority is well positioned to respond positively to the requirements of the Act and these are being undertaken within existing resources. In due course, there may be a requirement to invest further resources towards improving the electronic storage and retrieval of information. Specific proposals will be presented to the Authority if this requires any significant new funding or virement within existing resources. |
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4 |
European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 |
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4.1 |
The proposals within this report are compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 and considered in the light of the Race Relations (amendment) Act 2000. |
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Recommendations |
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1 |
That the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Policy Statement set out as Appendix 1 to this report be approved and adopted; and |
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2 |
That the Policy Statement be reviewed and updated as necessary on an annual basis. |
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Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers |
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The following documents disclose the facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of the report. |
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[Note: Insert here either the details of the background papers used or type the word `None' if no background papers used- Delete this paragraph] |
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NB The list excludes: |
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1 Published works |
2 Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act |
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Attach: Appendix 1 - HFRS Policy Statement - Freedom of Information Act 2000 |
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File ref: Secretarial/WP/Word/Corporate/HFRA: HFRA 15 9 2004 FIO Act 2000 PW/JMW/27/8/2004 |
