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The Provision of Advice and Assistance to Persons Making Requests for Information
21. The advice and assistance to persons making requests for environmental information may differ from that provided to those making general requests for information under FOISA:
- requests for environmental information need not be in writing or other recorded form
- EISRs contain no direct equivalent to the 'appropriate limit' exemption in regulations made under section 12 of FOISA - although requests which are "manifestly unreasonable" may be refused under regulation 10(4)(b) - see also paragraph 32 below
- where further information is needed, a Scottish public authority should ask the applicant, as soon as possible and in any event within 20 working days of the request, to provide more particulars.
- there is an obligation to transfer a request to another authority as in paragraphs 41-50 below.
22. Every Scottish public authority should be ready to provide advice and assistance, including but not necessarily limited to the steps set out below, to those who propose to make, or have made requests to it, in order to facilitate their use of the Regulations. The duty on the Scottish public authority is to provide advice and assistance "so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so". Any Scottish public authority which conforms with this Code in relation to the provision of advice and assistance in any case will be taken to have complied with that duty in relation to that case.
23. Appropriate assistance might include:
- assisting in defining better the information required
- providing the outline of the different kinds of information that might meet the terms of the request
- providing access to detailed catalogues and indexes, where these are available, to help the applicant ascertain the nature and extent of the information held by the authority;
- providing a general response to the request setting out options for further information that could be provided on request; or
- advising the person that another person or agency (such as Citizens Advice Bureau) may be able to assist them with the application.
This list is not exhaustive, and Scottish public authorities should be helpful in offering advice and assistance most appropriate to the circumstances.
24. Scottish public authorities should publish their procedures for dealing with requests for information. These procedures may include what the Scottish public authority's usual procedure will be where it does not hold the information requested - see also regulation 14 "Transfer of a request". Such published procedures may also alert prospective applicants to the fact that the Scottish public authority may want or may be required to consult other public authorities and/or third parties in order to reach a decision on whether the requested information can be released. Prospective applicants may wish to be notified before any transfer of request or consultation is made. If they wish to be notified, the published procedure may alert them to say so in their applications - see section on "consultation with third parties" below. The procedures should include an address or addresses (including an e-mail address where possible) to which applicants may direct requests for information or for assistance. A telephone number should also be provided, and where possible a contact name of an individual who can provide assistance to the applicant. These procedures should be referred to in the authority's FOISA publication scheme where it has one.
25. Staff of Scottish public authorities who are in contact with the public should bear in mind that not everyone will be aware of the EISRs or the FOISA, and they may need to draw these to the attention of prospective applicants who appear to be unaware of them.
26. Where a person finds it difficult to specify very clearly the nature of their request, the Scottish public authority should ensure that appropriate assistance is given to enable that person to make a request for information. In particular, if a request is formulated in too general a manner, the authority shall, as soon as possible and not later than 20 working days after receipt of the request, ask the applicant to provide more particulars and shall assist them in doing so. Scottish public authorities should be helpful in offering advice and assistance most appropriate to the circumstances, avoiding unduly bureaucratic procedures.
27. Where a request is unclear ie the applicant does not describe the information sought in a way which would enable a Scottish public authority to identify or locate it, or if the request is ambiguous, the authority should, as far as practicable, provide assistance to the applicant to enable him or her to describe more clearly the information requested. Scottish public authorities should be aware that the aim of providing assistance is to clarify the nature of the information sought, not to determine the aims or motivation of the applicant. Care should be taken not to give the applicant the impression that he or she is obliged to disclose the nature of his or her interest or that he or she will be treated differently if he or she does. It is important that the applicant is contacted as soon as possible, preferably by telephone, fax or e-mail, where more information is needed to clarify what is sought. Scottish public authorities will have a maximum of 20 working days from receipt of the clarified request to provide the applicant with a response.
28. In seeking to clarify what is sought, Scottish public authorities should bear in mind that applicants cannot reasonably be expected to possess identifiers such as a file reference number, or a description of a particular record, unless this information is made available by the authority for the use of applicants.
29. If, following the provision of such assistance, the applicant still fails to describe the information requested in a way that would enable a Scottish public authority to identify and locate it, the authority is not expected to seek further clarification. A Scottish public authority should disclose any information relating to the application that has been successfully identified and found for which it does not wish to claim an exception. It should also explain to the applicant why it cannot take the request any further and provide details of the authority's review procedure and where applicable the applicant's rights under regulation 17 and section 47 of the FOISA- see "Procedure for review" below.
30. Once a Scottish public authority has provided advice and assistance to an applicant whose request is unclear, and where the request continues to be formulated in too general a manner to enable an authority to identify any relevant information, that request may be refused.
31. Where the applicant indicates to a Scottish public authority that he or she is not prepared to pay any charge requested, the authority should consider whether there is any information that may be of interest to the applicant that is available free of charge.
32. There is no direct EISRs equivalent to the 'appropriate limit' under Fees Regulations made under section 12 of the FOISA. A Scottish public authority is expected to deal with all requests for environmental information regardless of the potential cost or charge to be made. Similarly there are no special provisions for dealing with requests that appear to be part of an organised campaign. Such requests are to be expected and dealt with in the usual way. Where the applicant makes a request which is clear but which is too large to be reasonable, or where the applicant specifies a cost ceiling, the Scottish public authority should consider providing an indication of what information could be provided within reason or within the applicant's cost ceiling.
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