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Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Regulation requests
Freedom of Information (FOI) / Environmental Information Requests (EIR)
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 gives a public right of access to information held by public bodies, and places obligations on public bodies to release the information on request if it is not subject to an exemption.
If you can’t find the information you are looking for on our website, you can submit a request to see information held by the council.
Making a request for information
You can make a request for information using our self-service portal, under the ‘Request’ tab.
For more information on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) please see further down the page.
Information we do not hold
If your request relates to one of the services below, please send it directly to Gloucestershire County Council:
- Social care
- Children and adult services
- Highways, roads and transport
- Schools and education
- Trading standards
- Adoption and fostering
- Libraries
- Social housing
Tewkesbury Borough Council own a very small number of properties; all other social housing stock was transferred to the housing associations.
There may already be information publicly available on our website, some useful pages to visit before submitting your request are:
- Strategies and policies page
- Spending and transparency page
- Committee meetings, agendas and minutes
- Service pages
When requesting information under the FOIA or EIR you much include the following details:
- Your full name and contact details, for example address or email address.
- Details of the information or documents you would like to access.
It may be helpful to include a telephone contact number in case we need to clarify your information needs, and any accessibility requirements.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website provides some advice to requestors about how to make a successful request for information.
The gov.uk website also provides some guidance on how to make a request which you may find useful.
Once you have submitted your request, we will allocate this to the relevant service area to respond and send you an acknowledgement which will contain the reference number of your request and the due date of the response.
We must respond as soon as possible and within 20 working days. In some circumstances we may be able to extend this period for complex cases. If this is the case, we will advise you of this as soon as possible and with a revised date.
During the process we may have to contact you for clarification on your request which we will aim to do as soon as possible.
Some information may not be given to you because it falls into an exemption (under FOIA), or an exception (under EIR) from disclosure. For more information details of these can be found on the ICO website.
If, after receiving the response to your request you are not happy, in the first instance, an informal resolution should be sought in an attempt to clarify outstanding points or resolve any misunderstanding.
Whilst informal resolutions should be attempted where appropriate, you have the right at any stage to apply for an internal review.
The internal review will be carried out by a senior officer who was not involved in responding to the original request. A request for an internal review may be received when:
- A decision has been made to withhold information.
- You are not satisfied with the handling of the request.
- No confirmation has been given whether the information is held.
- A reason for the request being refused is not received.
- It is felt that exemptions have been wrongly applied.
- It is felt that a fee has been wrongly applied.
We reserve the right to ask you for clarification of the grounds of your review if this is not clear.
If you wish to submit an internal review, the easiest way to do this is to send us an email. Alternatively, you can request a review in writing to:
Information requests,
Audit and Governance team,
Tewkesbury Borough Council,
Public Services Centre,
Gloucester Road,
Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire
GL20 5TT
In line with FOIA and EIR requirements, requests for reviews concerning information released under EIR with be dealt with within 40 working days. Reviews concerning information released under FOIA will be dealt with within 20 working days.
If you have already requested an internal review and you are still not happy with the handling of your response, then you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). You will need to raise this complaint with the ICO within three months of your last meaningful contact with us.
To make a complaint to the ICO, complete their online form which can be found on their website.
Alternatively, you can contact their helpline on 0303 123 1113. Their normal opening hours are Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm (excluding bank holidays).
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) give general public rights of access to any recorded information held by public authorities, including Tewkesbury Borough Council, unless a specified exemption applies.
EIR relates specifically to environmental information which includes information about air, water, soil, land, plants and animals, energy, noise, waste and emissions.
While there are many similarities between FOI and EIR there are some differences. Further details about the FOIA and EIR can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website.
To respond to your request, we might need to share your request, including your contact details, with one of our partner organisations. Please read our privacy statement for more information.