Freedom of Information Act

We welcome the opportunity to be open and accountable and to encourage your participation in issues.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) you have the right to ask us for information we hold, that is not already published elsewhere, nor exempt under the FOIA.

Hampshire  & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service publish open data and have a publication scheme. We recommend you review our Freedom of information Disclosure Log to see if the information you are seeking is already available. Where additional information is required, you can submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

How to make a request

To be able to meet your request for information we require you to:

• Make your request in writing.
• Make a clear and understandable request, with adequate detail to enable us to identify and locate the information.
• Tell us your name and address (this includes an email address) so we can respond to your request.
• If necessary, give an indication of which format you require the information to be in. We will do our best to try and meet your request.

Supplying us with all the information above will ensure that your application is dealt with as quickly as possible.

You will receive an acknowledgement of your request for information and a response within 20 working days. If we require additional information or are unclear of the specifics of your request we will ask for clarification.

Requesting a fire report

Contact us to request a fire report.

Charges

Any fee charged will be calculated by looking at the costs directly and reasonably incurred in supplying the information to you. You will then be sent a ‘fees notice’ which you will have to pay within three months of your request. You will not receive information until you have paid the costs in the fees notice.

If the estimated cost of providing the information would be above the appropriate limit set by the Government (£450) then we will not be under a duty to provide the information. We will inform you if the limit will be exceeded and try to let you know what can be provided within the limit. Despite not being obliged to provide information which exceeds the limit we will advise and assist as much as possible.

In order to protect the Service there will be rules which govern multiple applications for information which are clearly trying to avoid the financial limits set by the Government. However, we will try to help you as much as possible to get the information you want.

You may like to refer to ‘How to make a freedom of information (FOI) request’ for further information and guidance.

Exemptions

Some information may include exemptions and be subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR, so you will only get the information which is not exempt.

You only have a right to information and not necessarily to documents.

A list of possible exemptions can be found on the Information Commissioners website.

Feedback

If you want to make any comments about the Freedom of Information publication scheme, if you require further assistance or need to make a complaint, then initially this should be addressed to the Service’s Knowledge Management Team, telephone 023 8062 6850 or by contacting us.

If you are not satisfied with the assistance that you get from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service or if we have not been able to resolve your complaint and you feel that a formal complaint needs to be made, then this should be addressed to the office of the Information Commissioner.

This is the organisation that ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that deals with formal complaints. They can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk