Fife Council praised for handling of information requests
Fife Council has been praised for the way in which requests for information — including Freedom of Information inquiries — are dealt with.
- By Bruce Fegen
- Published in the Courier : 09.08.10
- Published online : 09.08.10 @ 07.51am
The pat on the back came from Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion, who highlighted areas of good practice in the arrangements to deal with information requests.
His assessment team looked at the council's overall approach and turned a spotlight on education in particular. The strong culture of openness and the particular willingness to make as much information publicly available as possible were praised in the report.
Executive director of education Ken Greer welcomed the endorsement and said, "While I welcome the positive nature of the report, we will take on board the recommendations from the commissioner and build on the good performance in this area."
The commissioner also recognised the council's proactive approach in identifying issues and putting in place measures to rectify them. The report goes on to recommend a number of improvements and includes an agreed action plan.
Executive director of performance and organisational support Mike Enston said, "This endorsement of our culture of openness reflects our approach to making as much information available as possible."
The council deals with most information requests on a "business as usual" basis and formally recorded 1436 requests in 2009, of which 157 related specifically to education issues.
Last year applicants raised 14 cases relating to Fife Council with the commissioner's office and his staff formally investigated eight of these.
Four of these cases form part of a single decision notice against the council, one case was partially upheld on technical requirements and the other three were decided in the local authority's favour.
The commissioner did not require the council to take any specific action in relation to any of these cases.
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