Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information (FOI) applies to all information held by public bodies. It also applies to specifically designated private companies that perform public functions but not to other private companies (see the Department for Constitutional Affairs website - this is an external hyperlink). However, all of the information that Fareham Borough Council holds about your company is covered by FOI, as is any information that you hold on Fareham Borough Council's behalf.

Q. If I give Fareham Borough Council information on my products or services, will this be subject to the Freedom of Information Act?

A. Yes, but that does not mean it will automatically be released if it is requested, as one of the exemptions may apply. We will seek your views before making a decision on disclosure of information that might affect your rights or interests.

Q. My company holds information on behalf of Fareham Borough Council. How am I affected?

A. If Fareham Borough Council gets a request for Information that includes information you hold on our behalf, we will ask you to provide it quickly so that we can comply with FOI.

Q. What if a request for information comes direct to my company?

A. You have no obligations to respond to such a request since FOI does not apply to your organisation. If the request relates to information that you hold on behalf of Fareham Borough Council, you should not in any case disclose it without our explicit agreement.

To be helpful to the requester, if the information requested relates to Fareham Borough Council, you should advise that the request should be submitted to Fareham Borough Council.

Q. Are there any exemptions that allow Fareham Borough Council to refuse to supply information?

A. Freedom of Information Act provides two types of exemption:

Absolute Exemptions and Qualified Exemptions

• Where information is covered by an Absolute Exemption, Fareham Borough Council may refuse to release the information and, in some circumstances, can refuse to confirm or deny whether we hold the information.
   
• Where Qualified Exemptions apply, Fareham Borough Council has to undertake a public notice interest test to decide whether it is in the public interest to disclose or withhold it.

 

Q. Could information I supply to Fareham Borough Council be protected by having a confidentiality clause in contracts or by providing the information in confidence?

A. Confidentiality clauses are discouraged under the Freedom of Information Act unless there are any genuine commercial and/or legal reasons why the information should be treated as confidential.

 

Information provided in confidence is only exempt if its disclosure would give rise to an actionable breach of confidence. This is a narrow legal exemption, which applies in limited circumstances and you should not assume that this exemption will apply just because you think information is confidential.

 

If you consider the information that you provide to Fareham Borough Council is confidential, you should identify the information and provide reasons why you consider the information to be confidential under the Freedom of Information Act.

Q. What will Fareham Borough Council do if it receives a request for information that might affect my company?

A. When considering requests, Fareham Borough Council will consult you about information that may affect your rights or interests, unless we are already certain that we must or must not disclose it. This consultation will help us to decide if an exemption applies and what the considerations are in applying a public interest test about information disclosure.

 

However, the law makes Fareham Borough Council alone, responsible for making the final decision regarding disclosure.

Q. What happens to tender information after a contract is awarded?

A. Information that was commercially sensitive during the tendering process may no longer be sensitive once contracts have been signed, therefore Fareham Borough Council will consult with you to determine its disclosure as in the previous answer.

 

Further guidance can be obtained from:

• Department for Constitutional Affairs Website (this is an external hyperlink)
• Information Commissioner Website (this is an external hyperlink)

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