Freedom of information publication scheme

This page contains Oadby and Wigston Borough Council's Freedom of Information Publication Scheme and sets out the information made routinely available by the Council.

Introduction

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council lies to the south east of Leicester City. The Council covers an area of 2,353 hectares with the main areas of population being Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston. The Council provides a wide range of services to the public including Health and Leisure, Community Safety, Development Control and Building Control. The Council collects Council Tax and provides Council Tax and Housing Benefit. The Council enforces Public Health and Environmental legislation. It maintains the Local Land Charges Register and handles Local searches. It is responsible for waste collection and it undertakes maintenance of open spaces and parks.

The Council does not provide the following services:-

Social Services, Education, Libraries and Museums

What is a publication scheme

The purpose of the publication scheme is to provide a guide to the information the Council publishes or intends to publish in the future.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council is required under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to maintain a publication scheme and this scheme has been produced following the updated guidance provided by the Information Commissioner and follows the approved standard.

In order to help you find the information you require, the scheme is separated into seven broad headings, these being:

• Who are we and what do we do
• What we spend and how we spend it
• What our priorities are and how we are doing
• How we make decisions
• Our Policies and Procedures
• Lists and Registers
• Services provided by the Council

Wherever possible, the information will be made available on the Council website and you can search for it via www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk However, providing information electronically is not always possible and, where this is the case, you should request the information in writing (via email or letter).

What information am I entitled to

Anyone, anywhere can request any information held by the Council whether it is listed in the publication scheme or not. However, some information held by the Council may be exempt as defined by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or subject to an exception as defined by the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 can be absolute or qualified. An absolute exemption means that the exempt information will not normally be made available to you at all. A qualified exemption means that the information will be made available to you, unless the public interest in not disclosing it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. This means that the Council will have to consider and decide where the public interest is greater.

Some of the absolute exemptions include information:-

• which is accessible by other means,
• which relates to national security,
• which is or relates to court records,
• which is personal data protected under the Data Protection Act and
• which is subject to legal professional privilege.

Qualified exemptions include information:-

• which relates to investigations and proceedings,
• which relates to law enforcement,
• which relates of health and safety and
• which is commercially confidential.

Can I use the information supplied to me for any purpose

The simple answer to this is no. Information which is supplied to you under the legislation is for your personal use only and it may be subject to copyright, either the Council's or a third party's. Simply because information is published on the Council's web site does not mean the Council or the third party has waived its copyright.

If you wish to re-use any information you must write in to Legal Services, our details are on the contact panel on the left.

How much does it cost

Where information is available online it is free for you to download and information that is already provided free of charge, such as leaflets and forms, will be emailed or posted at no cost.

The Council may make charges if the information requested is covered by a statutory fee or is listed in the Council's schedule of charges.

The Council may make charges for photocopying or posting information and you will be written to with the charges explained to you. Any fee requested will need to be paid prior to the information being sent.

Should you have any queries about the scheme or wish to make a request, please us, our details are on the contact panel on the left.

Oadby and Wigston is a small urban borough situated south east of Leicester with the main towns being Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston. It is the smallest in area of the county of Leicestershire's seven districts, at 2,352 hectares. The population of Leicestershire as a whole is 619,200 (mid year 2003 population figure) and Leicestershire covers an area of 2,083 square kilometres.

The borough has a population of 56,100 living in 21,992 households (Office for National Statistics mid year estimate) with an average household size of 2.45. The population is predicted to contract to 54,600 in 2011 with the number of people in the 35-44 age range moving out of the borough. Home ownership is 85.45 percent compared with 81.1 percent in Leicestershire and because of its high population density, there is much pressure on land for development. The borough has a higher than average number of young people (including 1,500 students in halls of residence) as well as older residents and the second highest ethnic population in the East Midlands at 18.2 percent.

Although relatively affluent, as indicated by the index of multiple deprivation 2004 (the borough is ranked 304th out of 354 English local authorities with 1 being the most deprived), there are still pockets of deprivation, most notably in Wigston and South Wigston. The average household income in the Borough is £30,275.

Two of the key factors which feature in the deprivation index are child poverty and educational attainment levels. In one or two wards in South Wigston and Wigston, the percentage of persons aged 16-74 with no qualifications is as high as 39.5 percent and 38 percent - the average for Leicestershire is 28.21 percent. However, compared with the white population, black and minority ethnic groups generally have a lower percentage of people with no qualifications and a higher percentage with a degree. Manufacturing is significant to the local economy and the unemployment rate at 2.5 percent is higher than the Leicestershire average but lower than the East Midlands average which is 3.2 percent. 83.8 percent of businesses in the borough employ less than 10 people.

Information Class: Who we are and what we do

Organisational information, structures, locations and contacts

Description: List of Council Services
Location: Web site A to Z

Description: Council Constitution - The council's constitution consists of a number of documents that, under the Local Government Act 2000, are required to be brought together and made available for public inspection. The articles of the constitution set out the basic principles that underlie the way the council operates
Location: Web site The Constitution of the Council

Description: Council's Democratic Structure (Committees)
Location: Committees

Description: Council Directorate Structure
Location: Available on request

Description: Location and opening times of Council Offices
Location: Web site for location map of main offices How to Find Us
Web site for opening hours of Council Offices Opening Times of Council Offices

Information Class: Who we are and what we do
Description: Currently elected Councillors' information and contact details - Ward Councillors' names, positions on the council and how they can be contacted.
Location: Web site Councillors

Description: Contact details for all customer facing departments
Location: Web site (main site and A to Z of services provided) Customer Services

Description: Most recent Election results
Location: Web site AV Referendum and Election Results 2011

Description: Relationships with other authorities
Location: Other authorities in Leicestershire. Central Government Contacts. Role of the Council, its divisions and functions.

Information Class: What we spend and how we spend it

Financial information about projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit. Information is available for the current and previous two financial years, both for the council as a whole but also for departments.

Description: Financial statements, budgets and variance reports - Financial information for both revenue budgets and budgets for capital expenditure to enable you to see where money is being spent.
Location: web site. All other information upon request.

Description: Capital Programme
Location: On request

Description: Spending Reviews
Location: On request

Description: Financial Audit Reports
Location: On request

Description: The Members' Allowance Scheme and the allowances paid under it to Councillors each year - the total of the allowances and expenses paid to councillors by reference to categories, for example, travel, subsistence and accommodation. Council guidelines on the level and claiming of expenses can also be found here.
Location: Published each year and available on request. Information on the Members' Allowance Scheme can also be found in the council's constitution.

Description: Staff allowances and expenses - details of the allowances and expenses that can be claimed.
Location: On request

Description: Pay and grading structure - this is provided as part of the organisational structure and indicates, for all posts, levels of pay rather than individual salaries.
Location: On request

Description: Procurement procedures - details of Council procedures for acquiring goods and services and contracts available for public tender.
Location: On request

Description: Details of contracts currently being tendered - this information will relate to contracts that are large enough to have gone through formal tendering
Location: On request

Description: List of contracts awarded and their value - details of recent contracts awarded by the Council that have gone through formal tendering
Location: On request

Description: District Auditors Report
Location: On request

Description: Financial statement for projects and events - financial reports for identifiable projects and publicised organised events that indicate actual expenditure against original project budgets
Location: On request

Description: Internal financial regulations
Location: On request

Description: Funding for partnership arrangements - details of the funding arrangements for partnerships where the council takes the lead role in the partnership arrangement. Details of the funding provided where the council contributes funding to a partnership arrangement managed by another authority
Location: On request

Information Class: What are our priorities and how are we doing

Description: This section will include strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews. Information is available for the current and previous three years, not only for the council as a whole but also for departments where available. The following list shows you the type of information we include here. It is not extensive and the information includes reports or recorded information showing the council's planned or actual performance:

• Annual reports
• Strategies and business plans for services provided by the Council
• Best value local performance plan
• Internal and external organisation performance reviews
• Strategies developed in partnership with other authorities - this includes community partnership strategies, safety and crime reduction strategies, road safety strategy, joint housing strategies, joint strategies for health issues and children's services
• Economic development action plan
• Forward plan
• Capital strategy
• Best value performance indicators
• District auditor's reports on the best value performance plan and performance indicators
• Comprehensive performance assessment
• Inspection reports
• Local Area Agreements
• Statistical information produced in accordance with the council's and departmental requirements
• Impact assessments
• Service standards
• Public service agreements

Location: Much of the information can be found on the Council's web site. For anything not on the web site, please email or write detailing the information you are requesting.

Information Class: How we make decisions

Information on the decision-making processes and records of decisions; information will cover the time frame current year plus 3 previous years.

Description: Timetable of Council meetings - agendas, officers' reports, background papers and minutes of Council committees, sub-committees and standing forum meetings. All this information is already publicly available under the local authority Access to Information Rules.
Location: Web site Council Meetings

Description: Major policy proposals and decisions - the information provided under this section is what the Council can give you on these matters without damaging internal policy development and relations with other public authorities.
Location: On request

Description: Facts and analyses of facts considered when framing major policies
Location: On request

Description: Public consultations - details of concluded consultation exercises including access to the consultation papers or information about where the papers can be obtained. This area includes the results and outcomes of consultation exercises.
Location: On request

Description: Internal communications guidance, criteria used for decision making, internal instructions, manuals and guidelines - where access to internal instructions, manuals and guidelines for dealing with the business of the council would help you understand how our decisions are made, these are included here except for the information we believe might damage the council's operations.
Location: On request

Information Class: Our policies and procedures

This section covers the Council's current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering its services and responsibilities. Some of the information about policies and procedures may be covered by the Council's constitution so, if you cannot find what you are looking for here, please look there.

Description: Policies and procedures for conducting Council business - Codes of practice, memoranda of understanding, procedural standing orders, internal guidance about the division of responsibilities between committees and delegated authority, policies on communications between councillors and members of staff and similar information.
Location: Some information can be found on the web site under the relevant sections. For anything not online, please request this information.

Description: Policies and procedures for delivering our services - this includes local area agreement memoranda and policies and procedures for handling information requests.
Location: Some information can be found on the web site under the relevant sections. For anything not online, please request this information.

Description: Policies and procedures about the recruitment and employment of staff - vacancies advertised as part of recruitment policies and details of current vacancies. Our policies relating to our staff, covering both the provision of services and the employment of staff; for example, equality and diversity and health and safety.
Location: Current jobs are advertised via our web site and www.jobsgopublic.com. Information is available on the web site and on request.

Description: Customer Service - our standards for providing services to the Council's customers, including the complaints procedure. Complaints procedures include those covering requests for information and operating the publication scheme.
Location: Web site

Description: Records management and personal data policies - this includes information security policies, records retention, destruction and archive policies and data protection (including data sharing) policies.
Location: Web site

Description: Charging regimes and policies - details of any statutory charging regimes are provided here. Charging policies include charges made for information routinely published, for example, under Access to Information legislation, and details what costs are recovered, the basis on which they are made and how they are calculated.
Location: Web site. Schedule of charges available on request.

Information Class: Lists and Registers

This class only covers information held in current lists and registers.

Description: Register of Councillors' financial and other interests. Register of gifts and hospitality.
Location: On request.

Description: Licensing (Taxi Drivers and Operators) (Personal and Premises)
Location:

Description: Register of Electors
Location: Full register available for inspection at the main council offices.

Description: Local Land Charges Register
Location: Web site for information about Land Charges - register available at the Council Offices for inspection. Local Land Charges Register

Description: Register of Food Premises. Register of Air Pollution Control in Industrial and Commercial Premises (Environmental Protection Act - Part 1). Register held under the Notification of Cooling Towers Regulations 1992.
Location: On request

Description: Register held under the Pet Animals Act. Register held under the Animal Boarding Establishments Act. Register held under the Breeding of Dogs Act. Register held under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act. Register held under the Riding Establishments Act. Register of Licensed Butchers' Shops. Register of Stray Dogs. Register of Hairdressers.
Location: On request.

Information Class: Services provided by the Council

This section includes current information about the services the Council provides, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters. This class is linked with the first class - Who are we and what do we do. While the first section provides information on the Council and its departments, roles and responsibilities, this section includes details of the services the Council provides as a result of them. The following is a list of some of the services the Council is responsible for and links to the relevant service pages on the web site are provided.

Description: Regulatory and licensing responsibilities
Location: Regulatory and Licensing Responsibilities

Description: Services for local businesses
Location: Services for Local Businesses

Description: Press releases
Location: News

Description: Refuse and Recycling
Location: Household Waste Collection

Description: Environmental Health
Location: Environmental Health

Description: Housing and Council Tax Benefits
Location: Benefits

Description: Council Tax Collection
Location: Council Tax

Description: Leisure Services
Location: Leisure Services

Description: Housing
Location: Housing

Description: Planning (Development Control)
Location: Development Control

Description: Building Control
Location: Building Control

Description: Community Safety
Location: Community Safety Partnership

If the service you are looking for is not in this list, please look on the Council's web site.

Description: Election Information.

The offices of the Returning Officer and of the Electoral Registration Officer are separate to the functions of the Council.

Information held by us on behalf of these two offices is not currently covered by the Freedom of Information Act. However, much of the information about elections is also held by the Council and, where we are allowed to by law, we will make this information available through the publication scheme; for example, forthcoming elections, election results, review of polling stations, information on becoming a councillor, voting procedures.