Policies and Procedures

Contents

Class 1   Who we are and what we do
Class 2   What we spend and how we spend it
Class 3   What our priorities are
Class 4   How we make decisions
Class 5   Our policies and procedures
Class 6   Lists and registers
Class 7   The services we offer

Exempt material
Charging policy
Review of policy
Version control and amendment history
Information Commissioner’s Office model publication scheme
Publishing datasets for re-use
 

Class 1

Who we are and what we do

Doddington and Whisby Parish Council has seven seats available for election every four years at the same time as North Kesteven District Council elections.

Vacancies are advertised as appropriate and can be filled by election or co-option. The Council employs one Clerk/ Responsible Financial Officer.

The Council website is https://doddington-whisby.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk/

Council noticeboards can be found at Main Street, Doddington and at Whisby Crossroads.

The Council can be contacted on clerk@doddington-whisby-pc.gov.uk or Facebook @doddingtonwhisby

Class 2

What we spend and how we spend it

Council finances are raised through a precept, paid by all residents as part of their annual council tax.

The current financial situation is discussed in each Council meeting. All transactions are detailed in the relevant minutes of that meeting.

Class 3

What our priorities are and how we are doing

The Annual Parish Meeting, open to all electors, is held in April.

Class 4

How we make decisions

Council meetings are held on the second Monday of each month and are open to the public. Each meeting starts with a period of public forum.

Class 5

Our policies and procedures

Class 6

Lists and Registers

Class 7

The services we offer

A newsletter is produced quarterly and distributed by hand to all households in the parish. Residents should contact the Clerk if they wish to receive a copy by email.
A Facebook page is managed to provide information about Council activities.

Exempt Material:
 
•   Personal information relating to Councillors (other than required to be declared in Register of Interests)
•   Personal information relating to employees
•   Tenders and bids from contractors and suppliers
(Note: Data Protection Legislation prohibits the publication of certain categories of information)

Charging Policy:

Information can be inspected, by appointment, on application to the Clerk

Information that can be copied without breaching copyright laws can be provided by hard copy at the cost per single sided A4 sheet of:

•   15p (black and white)
•   30p (colour).

A detailed search of records (for example the Council minutes or archive material) is subject to a charge of £15 per search plus the relevant photocopying charges.

Any photocopies sent by post will be subject to the actual cost of postage and packaging. Any Statutory Fees will be charged in accordance with the relevant legislation.

The Parish Council is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Registration number: ZA033882

Review of Policy:

This Policy was approved by the Parish Council meeting in August 2019, reviewed in 2021 and thereafter every two years.

Note 1: Any information which is available on the Parish Council’s website is also available from the Clerk subject to the charges set out above for printed copies.

Note 2: Under Data Protection Legislation, the Council is required to review regularly the information that it keeps and to destroy that which does not form part of its official records. Residents wishing to inspect information are therefore requested to contact the Clerk to ensure that the information they require is still available.

Version control and amendment history

Information available from Doddington and Whisby Parish Council under the model publication scheme of the Information Commissioner’s Office.
 
This guidance/template gives examples of the kinds of information that we would expect Parish/Community Councils to provide in order to meet their commitments under the model publication scheme.

We would expect Parish/Community Councils to make the information in this definition document available unless:

•   it does not hold the information;
•   the information is exempt under one of the FOIA exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations exceptions, or its release is prohibited by another statute;
•   the information is readily and publicly available from an external website; such information may have been provided by the public authority or on its behalf. The authority must provide a direct link to that information;
•   the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or,
•   it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.

The guidance is not meant to give an exhaustive list of everything that should be covered by a publication scheme. The legal commitment is to the model publication scheme, and public authorities should look to provide as much information as possible on a routine basis.

Publishing datasets for re-use

Public authorities must publish under their publication scheme any dataset they hold that has been requested, together with any updated versions, unless they are satisfied that it is not appropriate to do so. So far as reasonably practicable, they must publish it in an electronic form that is capable of re-use.

If the dataset or any part of it is a relevant copyright work and the public authority is the only owner, the public authority must make it available for re-use under the terms of a specified licence. Datasets in which the Crown owns the copyright or the database rights are not relevant copyright works.

The Datasets Code of Practice recommends that public authorities make datasets available for re-use under the Open Government Licence.

The term ‘dataset’ is defined in section 11(5) of FOIA. The terms ‘relevant copyright work’ and ‘specified licence’ are defined in section 19(8) of FOIA. The ICO has published guidance on the dataset provisions in FOIA. This explains what is meant by “not appropriate” and “capable of re-use”.