How the WELB makes information available
HOW THE WELB MAKES INFORMATION AVAILABLE
The Office of the Information Commissioner has provided all
public sector organisations with a standard framework for
making information available to the public. This means that
no matter which public sector website we visit the commitment
to publish should be the same. This framework is called a
Publication Scheme, and is broken down into seven categories
or classes:
1. Who we are and what we do.
Organisational information, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance.
Organisational information, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance.
2. The services we offer.
Information relating to the services we offer.
Information relating to the services we offer.
3. What we spend and how we spend it.
Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts.
Financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, tendering, procurement and contracts.
4. What our priorities are and how we are
doing.
Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews.
Strategy and performance information, plans, assessments, inspections and reviews.
5. How we make decisions.
Policy proposals and decisions. Decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations.
Policy proposals and decisions. Decision making processes, internal criteria and procedures, consultations.
6. Our policies and procedures.
Current written protocols for delivering our functions and responsibilities.
Current written protocols for delivering our functions and responsibilities.
7. Lists and registers.
Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority.
Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to the functions of the authority.
All public sector organisations must follow the same
Publication Scheme but to further clarify what should be made
available, sector specific guides called Definition Documents
have been created to provide examples of the type of
information that should be proactively published, if held.
The full FOI Publication Scheme and Education and Library
Board (ELB) Definition Document can be accessed by clicking
on the links below:
To keep things simple, the WELB has restructured the 'publications'
section of its website based on the Publication Scheme
categories and, over the coming months will make as much
information available as possible. At times, we may be unable
to upload certain documents onto our website, but we'll still
list them, and make it clear how they can be accessed. We
also appreciate that not everyone has access to the internet
so we'll be happy to provide information via different
means. Sometimes we may have to charge for providing copies
of large documents, but we'll always discuss this with
you. In keeping with the Board's commitment to promote
equality of opportunity, information can also be made
available on request in alternative formats. These include
Braille, disc, audiocassette, large print and in minority
languages to meet the needs of those people who are not
fluent in English.
If the information you're looking for isn't listed on our
Publication Scheme, or anywhere else on our website, you can
submit an individual Freedom of Information request for
access to it. This can be done by e-mail, letter or fax
to the contact details below, but be sure to include your
name, address and description of the information you'd like.
If we hold what you're looking for, we'll send it to you as
soon as possible provided it doesn't fall under any of
the FOI Exemptions. If it does, we'll explain clearly why we
can't release it.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Operational responsibility for Freedom of Information falls to the Board's Corporate Information Manager, Mr Nigel McCosker who can be contacted at:
| Address | WELB Headquarters, 1 Hospital Road, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, BT79 0AW |
| Telephone | 028 8241 1553 |
| Facsimile | 028 8241 1273 |
| nigel_mccosker@welbni.org |