The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives you the right to access many types of recorded information held by public organisations, such as the council. ‘Recorded information’ means information that is:
A lot of council information is available on our website through our publication scheme.
For any information not in our publication scheme, you can make a FOI request. We must reply to your request within 20 working days.
There are some types of information that we won’t be able to give you for legal reasons, for example, because it would give you personal information about someone else.
FOI requests must be submitted in writing and include your name and a postal or email address so we can contact you with our response. Try to be as specific as you can about the information you want.
The easiest way to submit an FOI request is to email inforequests@havant.gov.uk or write to:
Information Governance Officer, Havant Borough Council, Civic Offices, Havant, PO9 2AX.
The council can make a charge to cover costs such as photocopying and postage.
We must reply within 20 working days. If we can’t give you the information at that time, we will explain why. In complicated cases, the time limit can be extended to a maximum of 40 days from the date of your request.
If you're not satisfied with the response you have received to a request for information, you can ask us to review our handling of the matter.
This can be done by emailing governance@havant.gov.uk, providing the reference number of your request and the issues you would like us to investigate. Alternatively please write to the Governance Team at the council offices.
The Information Commissioner’s Office recommends that public authorities carry out internal reviews within 20 working days. The council commits to a 20-working day time period commencing the day after receipt of a valid request for review.
If you remain unsatisfied after the review outcome, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Please be aware the ICO will not consider a complaint unless the council has fulfilled the internal review process first.