The Freedom of Information ( Scotland ) Act 2002 aims to make information held by public authorities more accessible and allows you to request a wide variety of material.
The Public Transport Users' Committee for Scotland (PTUC) (operating name Passengers' View Scotland), like other Scottish public authorities, is legally bound with the requirements which came into force on 1 January 2005.
Our Publication Scheme
Who can request information?
What information can be requested?
How to make a request
What we do when we receive a request
How long does it take?
What does it cost?
How is information provided?
Reviews and appeals
Our Publication Scheme
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, PTUC must publish a Publication Scheme which -
- Describes the classes of information we are committed to publishing
- Describes how the information can be obtained
- And specifies whether or not any changes apply
Our Publication Scheme was published on our website in September 2007
Detailed information about the provisions of the Act can be found on the Scottish Government website and information on your rights under the Act is available from the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Who can request information?
Anyone (individual, company) etc can make a request.
We do not need to know why you are making the request or what you intend to do with the information. We will not impose conditions on the use or further disclosure of information provided although you should be aware that information disclosed may be subject to copyright protection.
What information can be requested?
You can request any information held by or on behalf of PTUC.
If your request is wholly or partly for 'environmental information' we are required to treat that part of your request as a request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
If your request is wholly or partly for personal information about yourself that is held by PTUC, we are required to treat that part of your request as a 'subject access request' under the Data Protection Act 1998.
How to make a request
Requests must be made in writing and should include:
- Your name and an address for correspondence (this could be an e-mail address)
- A clear statement of the information you are requesting
- The form in which you wish to receive your information
It would also be helpful to include a contact telephone number in case we need to discuss your request.
Requests should be submitted via letter to:
Passengers' View Scotland
Area 2D Dockside
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
ptuc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
What we do when we receive a request
We will acknowledge your request and contact you if we need further information in order to identify and locate the information you have requested.
If PTUC does not hold the information requested, we will advise you of this and if possible direct you to an alternative source.
How long does it take?
We are obliged to respond within 20 working days following the date we receive your request. If we need to ask you for clarification of the request, the 20 working day period not start until that clarification is received.
What does it cost?
The majority of requests are expected to be handled without any charge. If it would cost more than £600, we are not required to comply with a request. The cost limit covers the time taken to locate, retrieve and provide information (calculated at a maximum of £15 per our). It does not cover the time taken to consider whether the information should be provided or not. Complying with requests that will cost more than £600 is discretionary.
We can charge in some circumstance but if the request would be subject to a charge we will inform you before proceeding with the request.
How is the information provided?
You may express a preference for receiving information in a particular format: e.g. a digest/summary, inspecting the records at PTUC offices, Braille or audio format, large type, or translated into another language.
Reviews and appeals
If you are unhappy with our response to a request for information, you may ask for an internal review to be carried out in writing to:
Convener
Passengers' View Scotland
Area 2D Dockside
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
ptuc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Your request should explain why you wish a review to be carried out and should be made within 40 working days of receiving the response to your request. PTUC are required to reply within 20 working days of receipt. The review will be undertaken by staff not involved with your original request.
If you are dissatisfied with the results of the internal review, you may appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. For details, please for the Scottish Information Commissioner's website
PUBLIC TRANSPORT USERS' COMMITTEE FOR SCOTLAND (PTUC)
PUBLICATION SCHEME
CONTENTS
1 Introduction
2 Responsibility for the Publication Scheme
3 Classes of Information
4 Archiving Policy
5 Copyright
6 Acessing information from the publication scheme
7 Charging policy
8 Responding to requests for information not in the scheme & dealing with complaints
9 Feedback
1. INTRODUCTION
Section 23 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOI(S)A) requires Scottish public authorities, including the Scottish Government to establish and maintain a publication scheme. Under the Act, the Scottish Government is required to specify:
- The classes of information it publishes or intends to publish
- How information is published
- Whether the information is available free of charge or on payment of a fee
As a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) of the Scottish Government, PTUC Scotland has prepared this publication scheme as required by section 23 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The PTUC Scotland publication scheme is based on the publication scheme developed by the Scottish Government which the NDPB has been operating under since it came into being on 1 January 2007. The PTUC Scotland publication scheme is included as a sub-theme of the main Scottish Government publication scheme. This means that some information, relating to internal guidance for example, will be common to both schemes. Where appropriate we have highlighted that the relevant information is already available in the Scottish Government scheme - which can be viewed on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/FOI/19260/18084
The purpose of the publication scheme is to let you know what information is readily available from PTUC Scotland. This scheme also provides detail on how to request information from PTUC Scotland which is not included in this Publication Scheme.
As PTUC Scotland is a newly established NDPB, the publication scheme is intended to be as flexible as possible to allow for future revision and expansion and PTUC Scotland will keep the scheme under continual review.
2 RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PUBLCATION SCHEME
Contact:
Passengers' View Scotland
Area 2D Dockside
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
ptuc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Phone: 0131 244 0869
3 CLASSES OF INFORMATION
Listed below are the classes of information which PTUC publishes or intends to publish.
A Information published for external purposes, including research, report and summaries.
- News releases
- Newsletters
- Information leaflets, including fact sheets and flyers
- Research and statistical reports
- Information on complaints received by the Bus Passengers' Platform
B Corporate publications (including business planning)
- Annual statistics
- Annual reports and accounts
- Corporate Plan
- Business Plan
- Financial Management Statement
- PVS workplan
- BPP workplan
C Public consultations
- Responses, and summaries of responses, to consultations carried out in the past 2 years
D External guidance
- Good practice guidance, including case studies
- Guidance notes
E Procurement
F Internal PTUC Guidance
- Training/learning
- Guidance, e.g. on health and safety
G Committee and Working Group Information
- PTUC committee and working group agendas and minutes are available on our website within 3 months of each scheduled meeting.
Note
Where it is indicated that information will be available from a later date this will generally be because:
- The current information is out of date and is being revised;
- The information is not currently available in the form indicated by this scheme; or
- The information contains significant amounts of exempt material and is being prepared for publication
4 ARCHIVING POLICY
In line with the Section 61 Code of Practice on Records Management, PTUC Scotland follows the good practice for records management as set out in the Scottish Government's record management Manual so it can;
- Be publicly accountable for, and able to justify, its decision and actions;
- Comply with the requirements of
- The Public Records Act, 1958;
- The Data Protection Act 1998; and
- The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002; and
- Preserve important decisions for future generations including historians
A copy of the Scottish Government's Record Management Manual is available on its website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/08/15152416/24168
5 COPYRIGHT
All Scottish Government publications are subject to Crown Copyright. As a Crown body, the information we provide is subject to Crown copyright which is administered by the Queen's Printer for Scotland (OQPS).
In the main, this material may be reproduced without formal permission or charge for personal or in-house use. For other use, or if in doubt, further information is available from: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/index.htm
Authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by the Crown should be sought from the copyright holders concerned. If in doubt, users should contact the OQPS in the first instance. Guidance notes on publishing and copyright, including those from the Queen's Printers for Scotland, are available on the Cabinet Office website at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/index.htm
6 ACCESSING INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLICATION SCHEME
You can access information described in the PTUC publication scheme in the following ways:
Online: Most information listed in the publication scheme is available from the PTUC website at www.ptucscotland.gsi.gov.ukPlease note that, as the NDPB has only been existence since January 2007, transport publications from an earlier date than that will be on the main Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gsi.gov.uk/publications/Recent
By email: if the information you request is not available on this website, but is listed in our publication scheme, PTUC Scotland will send it to you by email, wherever practicable. Please send your request for information to ptuc@scotalnd.gsi.gov.uk
When requesting information, please include your name, contact details such as an address or e-mail address and details of the information or documents you want to see.
Other formats: If you need information supplied in an alternative format, e.g. on audio tape, in Braille or alternative languages, please let us know and we will take all reasonable steps to provide it in the format you request. Please note that if we need to arrange for a document to be transcribed or translated into an alternative format it may take longer than normal to provide you with the information. Depending on the size of the document(s) requested, there could be a delay of up to a month in providing them. We will always provide publications as quickly as we can, however, and there is a delay we will contact you to explain why and when you can expect to receive them.
7 CHARGING POLICY
Information on PTUC Scotland's website will be available free of charge (i.e. there will be no charge by PTUC Scotland, although the user would of course have to meet charges by their Internet Service Provider and their personal printing costs etc).
For those without access to the web-site a single print-out as on the web-site (or a hard copy of the document except where indicated) can be requested. These will be provided free of charge except where indicated.
Requests for multiple print-outs of material on the web-site or for multiple hard copies may attract a charge for the cost of printing, photocopy, postage etc. Printing and photocopy costs will not exceed £1 per 10 pages.
If charges are to be made you will be told at the time of your request and these would be payable in advance.
8 RESPONDING TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PUBLICATION SCHEME & DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS
This publication scheme does not describe all of the information held by PTUC Scotland. If the information you require is not included in the scheme you can submit a written request for information (by letter, email etc) to the contacts detailed in Section 7. Officials in the NDPB have a duty to advise people about making a request and helping them to make one, and they must provide a response within 20 working days of receiving the request. Some types of information may not be provided for good reasons, but those reasons must be in line with FOI(S)A and must be explained to applicants. Further detail on this is available from the Scottish Information Commissioner (website: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/)
If you are unhappy with our response to a request for information, you may ask for an internal review to be carried out in writing by the Convener, PTUC Scotland, Area 2D Dockside, Victoria Quay Edinburgh EH6 6QQ. Your request should explain why you wish a review to be carried out and should be made within 40 working days of receiving the response to your request. PTUC Scotland is required to reply within 20 working days of receipt. The review will be undertaken by staff not involved with your original request.
If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, or you are unable to resolve any complaint, you can complain to the Scottish Information Commissioner who oversees Act. Further details on this are available on the Commissioner's website http://itspublicknowledge.info/yourrights/yourrights9.htm
The contact details for the Commissioner are:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Email: enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info
9 FEEDBACK
PTUC Scotland is required to review its publication scheme periodically and welcomes feedback on how to develop its scheme. If you have feedback, including whether you found the information easy to locate and whether there is any additional information which should be make available through the publication scheme, or you want to make any comments about the publication scheme or require any assistance please contact:
Secretary PTUC Scotland
Area 2D Dockside
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ
ptuc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Examples of comments on the scheme could be:
- What did you like or dislike about this Publication Scheme?
- What else would you like to see in this Publication Scheme?
- Did you find the information you wanted easily and were the members of staff helpful?
- Do you have any suggestions on how to make PTUC Scotland more open and transparent in the provision of information?