Every public authority subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is required to adopt and maintain a publication scheme. A publication scheme is a commitment to routinely and proactively provide information to the public.
Please click here
for details of the ICO's proposed new model publication scheme.
Public authorities may develop their own ‘bespoke’ publication schemes, or adopt what is known as a model scheme. Model schemes are available for various sectors and exist where a large number of authorities operate the same or similar functions. You can see a list of existing model schemes and find out more about bespoke schemes.
The ICO is currently working with public authorities to develop new model publication schemes under the umbrella of the Development and Maintenance Initiative (DMI).
One of the key changes to publication schemes for all sectors is the extension of the deadline for reapproval until June – December 2008. This has commenced with immediate effect.
In addition to improving and expanding schemes, the initiative is an opportunity for authorities to collaborate with the ICO to feedback on the effectiveness of schemes.
Between January and August 2007, the ICO ran a series of workshops which were attended by representatives from the public sector, broadly split as follows:
- Central Government
- Non Departmental Public Bodies
- Health
- Local Government Councils
- Local Government Services
- Education
- Police
The workshops took place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition to the sector workshops, an advisory panel of experts and interested parties brought a user perspective to the initiative and acted as a ‘sounding board’ for ideas on how schemes can be improved.
You can read more information on the Development and Maintenance Initiative and its associated outputs.
We have been delighted with the encouraging response to the secondary consultation and have received many valuable comments from a wide range of public authorities and others.
Feedback so far has indicated a wide acceptance of the generic model scheme containing the seven higher level classes of information. In order to fully consider all the responses we have received we have decided to extend our own timescale by a short period.
The model scheme and associated sector guidance will now be available on our website during April and no later than 1 May 2008. We apologise for this short delay and hope that it will not too greatly inconvenience those authorities wishing to start work on their new schemes.
If you have any views on publication schemes or would like to be involved in the initiative, we’d like to hear from you. Please contact us.
Click here to view our new model publication scheme page.
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