Publication Scheme

Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 lists the public bodies which must comply with its provisions. The Housing Ombudsman Service and its constituent schemes were not included. However, the Ombudsman has decided that the Service will comply with the terms of the Act voluntarily.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

FOIA was passed on 30 November 2000 and will be brought fully into force by January 2005. The FOIA has several functions: it gives a general right of access to recorded information held by the listed bodies, sets out various exemptions from that right, and places a number of obligations on the bodies.

One of the obligations set out by the FOIA is the requirement that every listed body to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme. The main purpose of the Publication Scheme is to provide organisations with an opportunity to publish more information pro-actively and to develop a greater culture of openness. Making information available through a Publication Scheme might reduce the need for individuals to make specific requests.

A Publication Scheme should identify:

(i) the classes of information the organisation publishes or intends to publish;
(ii) the manner in which the organisation shall publish the information; and
(iii) whether or not the organisation shall charge for the information.

The Service recognises its duty to maintain a high standard of record keeping. The Ombudsman is committed to making available as much information as possible to enable an informed member of the public understand the way the Service operates, in accordance with the principles of the FOIA.

However, certain information will not be included if the Ombudsman considers it to fall under one of the exemptions specified by the terms of the FOIA which apply to all the listed bodies. An example of this would be casework information connected with a particular complaint or dispute, which the Ombudsman must handle within the rules of confidentiality and data protection, and use only for the purposes for which it was gathered.

Should the Publication Scheme contain any information which would normally be exempt under the FOIA's general right of access, the Ombudsman is under no obligation to produce similar or related information.

Obtaining Information

The Publication Scheme for the Housing Ombudsman Service includes all policies, procedures, position statements and other general information which describes its operational environment. The information is available free of charge from the Service's website. Please visit the relevant sections in the website to read or download the electronic versions of the documents. To do so you will need to use PDF document reading software, such as Acrobat Reader.

You can also make a written request for a printed copy of any of the documents. To do so you should contact our office by post or email. Additional information about the Housing Ombudsman Service which is not in its publication Scheme may also be available, but we may have to make a small charge to cover administrative costs. We will say if a charge applies, and how much it is, before we deal with your request.

Copyright

You can reproduce any information in the Publication Scheme without the Service's prior consent, but we would appreciate it if you could attribute it to us if relevant.

The Data Protection Act 1988 (DPA)

The DPA came into force in March 2000. It regulates the use of information about living individuals and gives certain rights to individuals in respect of personal data held about them by others (called data controllers). Individuals have the right to access personal information held about them (called subject access request), provided no exemptions apply and a fee is paid when applicable. A subject access request to the Housing Ombudsman Service should be made in writing. A £10 fee to cover administrative costs should be included. On receipt of all necessary information required, the Service will comply with the request within 40 days as prescribed by the DPA.

Responsibilities for the Voluntary Publication Scheme

The Ombudsman has delegated the management of the Publication Scheme to the Deputy Ombudsman, Rafael Runco. You may contact him directly at rrunco@housing-ombudsman.org.uk.

Feedback and complaints

If you have any comments about this Publication Scheme or if you are unhappy with the way it is managed please let us know.

The Information Commissioner

The Information Commissioner ensures compliance with the FOIA and DPA. To obtain further information contact:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Walter Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
K9 5AF
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk