The purpose of the scheme is to enable any individual or organisation to know what information Barnard Castle Town Council routinely publishes and also how to access it.
In accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the scheme specifies the classes of information that the Town Council publishes or intends to publish and a definition is given for each class. The guide is not a list of every publication by title as this would be subject to continual change and too lengthy to be helpful.
The Publication Scheme Guide and a Request for Information Form are available in the Policies and Procedures section of our website.
Some information is exempt from the publication scheme as set out in the Freedom of Information Act 2000. All general correspondence sent or received by us and all information relating to private individuals by virtue of it being personal data covered by the Data Protection Act 1998.
There is also a limitation by age on some document in some classes. This does not mean that the information beyond that date cannot be obtained but this information is not available as a matter of course within our publication scheme.
It is our intention to make all our publications free of charge. However, this may need to be looked at if requests for extraordinary large amounts or multiple copies are received and will be constantly reviewed in the future.
The Publication Scheme Guide has been published because it is a requirement of the Freedom of Information Act, but also because the Town Council is committed to making information of public interest widely and easily available.
It is important that the scheme meets your needs and we welcome your comments on this matter. Any comments about the scheme should be sent in writing to the Town Council’s office. Please view the contact us section of our website for your preferred method of contacting Barnard Castle Town Council.