Freedom of information

What is the Freedom of Information Act?

  • The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) grants public access to information. Anyone can request information from public authorities. The FOI came into full force in 2005. For more information, see Information Commissioner.

Submitting an FOI request

Before you submit an FOI request, you could try one of the following:

  • Viewing our frequently requested information list. This is a list of information that we get quite a few requests for. This information is already held on our website. It may also be published on a partner website. View our frequently requested information.
  • Viewing our FOI disclosure log. Our FOI disclosure log holds past responses to FOI requests. These FOI requests are ones we feel are of wider public interest. View our FOI disclosure log.
  • Viewing our publication scheme. This is a guide to the information we publish regularly. You'll find categories of information that we publish. View our publication scheme.

Submit an FOI request

To submit an FOI request, you will need to:

  • Include your contact details. Failure to do so will result in the request being cancelled.
  • If your request is on behalf of an organisation, enter its name.
  • Send your request by email to harrow@email.icasework.com.

All responses to FOI requests will be published in our disclosure log. An FOI request will not provide access to services, appeals, or service requests.

Information not included in the scheme

We want to make as much information as possible available. Some information cannot be made available. This includes personal information about individuals. Or information with some legal exemptions. For more information, see Information Commissioner's Office.

If we must withhold information in a document, we will mark it. This will show that information was withheld and explain why.

Information available but not originating from us

We sometimes provide information that we did not create. Where we include this information in our scheme, we will state it. We try to make sure the information we did not produce is up-to-date and accurate.

Information on other websites is not included in our scheme. We provide links to other websites to be as helpful as we can. We are not responsible for the quality of the content on their web pages.

We can send information in leaflets and booklets. We post them out once we have received a fee (if applicable).

Information may be available by email. If there is strong demand for some information by email, we may publish it on our website.

We can publish some documents in other formats. We may do this for people with disabilities. Some are published in other languages. We use Language Line. This is to provide a translation service for callers. This allows callers to speak to a translator and then to the council officer.

If you need help with any of the above, email: dpo@harrow.gov.uk.

Disclosure log

The disclosure log lists our responses to past FOI requests. These are questions that we feel are of wider public interest.

View our disclosure log

Information charter

The information charter sets out the standards you can expect from us when we hold or request information about you. We refer to this as your "personal data".

"Personal data" is information about living people. It does not include information about dead people, groups, or businesses. The UK GDPR and Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 regulate personal data.

We may need to handle your personal information to improve our services. This is how we look after that information:

  • We make sure you know why we need it.
  • We ask only for what we need, and not to collect too much or irrelevant information.
  • We protect the information and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn't.
  • We will tell you if we share it with others to improve public services. You can then say no.
  • We make sure we do not keep it longer than necessary.
  • We do not share your personal information for commercial use without your permission.

In return, we ask you to:

  • Give us accurate information.
  • Tell us as soon as possible if there are any changes, such as a new address.

This helps us keep your information reliable and up to date. You can get more details from the data protection officer on:

  • How to find out what information we hold about you and how to ask us to correct any mistakes.
  • Any agreements we have with other organisations to share information.
  • Cases where we can share your personal information without telling you. This includes preventing and detecting crime.
  • Our instructions to staff on using and deleting your personal information.
  • How we check the information we hold is accurate and up to date.
  • How to make a complaint.

When we ask you for information, we will keep to the law, including the DPA 2018. You can contact the Information Commissioner for advice on data protection.