Publication Scheme

This publication scheme commits Cornwall Housing to make information available to the public as part of its normal business activities. The information covered is included in the classes of information mentioned below, where this information is held by Cornwall Housing.

The scheme commits Cornwall Housing:

• To proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information, including environmental information, which is held by Cornwall Housing and falls within the classifications below.
• To specify the information which is held by Cornwall Housing and falls within the classifications below.
• To proactively publish or otherwise make available as a matter of routine, information in line with the statements contained within this scheme.
• To produce and publish the methods by which the specific information is made routinely available so that it can be easily identified and accessed by members of the public.
• To review and update on a regular basis the information Cornwall Housing makes available under this scheme.
• To produce a schedule of any fees charged for access to information which is made proactively available.
• To make this publication scheme available to the public.
• To publish any dataset held by Cornwall Housing that has been requested, and any updated versions it holds, unless Cornwall Housing is satisfied that it is not appropriate to do so; to publish the dataset, where reasonably practicable, in an electronic form that is capable of re-use; and, if any information in the dataset is a relevant copyright work and the public authority is the only owner, to make the information available for re-use under the terms of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, if they apply, and otherwise under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act section 19. The term ‘dataset’ is defined in section 11(5) of the Freedom of Information Act. The term ‘relevant copyright work’ is defined in section 19(8) of that Act.

Classes of Information

• Who we are and what we do
  Current organisational, locations and contacts, constitutional and legal governance information is included in this class.
• What our priorities are and how are we doing
  Information about our strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews for the current year and previous three years will be published. Our corporate plan and annual reports are included in this section.
• How we make decisions
  Decision making processes and information about our board including timetables of Board meetings, agendas and details of public consultations are included in this information.
• Our policies and procedures
  Current written protocols that we follow when delivering our services and responsibilities. This section includes our policies and procedures for providing our services and for the recruitment and employment of staff, our complaints procedure and our records management policy.
• The services we offer
  Current advice and guidance, booklets, leaflets, newsletters and media releases. A description of the services we offer.

The classes of information will not generally include:

• Information in the disclosure of which is prevented by law, or exempt under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004, or is otherwise properly considered to be protected from disclosure.
• Information in draft form.
• Information that is no longer readily available as it is contained in files that have been placed in archive storage, or is difficult to access for similar reasons.

The method by which information published under this scheme will be made available.

Cornwall Housing will indicate clearly to the public what information is covered by this scheme and how it can be obtained.

Where it is within the capability of Cornwall Housing, information will be provided on our website and in a reusable format where possible. Where it is impracticable to make information available on a website or when an individual does not wish to access the information by the website, Cornwall Housing will indicate how information can be obtained by other means and provide it by those means.

In exceptional circumstances some information may be available only by viewing in person. Where this manner is specified, contact details will be provided. An appointment to view the information will be arranged within a reasonable timescale.

Information will be provided in the language in which it is held or in such other language that is legally required. Where an authority is legally required to translate any information, it will do so.

Obligations under disability and discrimination legislation and any other legislation to provide information in other forms and formats will be adhered to when providing information in accordance with this scheme.

Charges which may be made for Information published under this scheme

The purpose of this scheme is to make the maximum amount of information readily available at minimum inconvenience and cost to the public. Charges made by Cornwall Housing for routinely published material will be justified and transparent and kept to a minimum.

Material which is published and accessed on a website will be provided free of charge.

Charges may be made for information subject to a charging regime specified by Parliament.

Charges may be made for actual disbursements incurred such as:

• photocopying
• postage and packaging
• the costs directly incurred as a result of viewing information

Charges may also be made for information provided under this scheme where they are legally authorised, they are in all the circumstances, including the general principles of the right of access to information held by Cornwall Housing, justified and are in accordance with a published schedule or schedules of fees which is readily available to the public.

Charges may also be made for making datasets (or parts of datasets) that are relevant copyright works available for re-use. These charges will be in accordance with the terms of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, where they apply, or with regulations made under section 11B of the Freedom of Information Act, or with other statutory powers of the public authority.

If a charge is to be made, confirmation of the payment due will be given before the information is provided. Payment may be requested prior to provision of the information.

Written Requests

Information held by Cornwall Housing that is not published under this scheme can be requested in writing, when its provision will be considered in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. More information on Freedom of Information can be found on our Freedom of Information pages.

Freedom of Information statistics

Public authorities are encouraged to publish statistics on their performance of handling requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR). Details can be found on the Freedom of information Advice page.