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diff --git a/lib/views/help/officers.html.erb b/lib/views/help/officers.html.erb new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a7d208 --- /dev/null +++ b/lib/views/help/officers.html.erb @@ -0,0 +1,247 @@ +<% @title = "FOI officer questions" %> + +<%= render :partial => 'sidebar' %> +<div id="left_column_flip"> + +<h1 id="officers"><%= @title %> <a href="#officers">#</a> </h1> + +<dl> + +<dt id="top">I just got here from bottom of an FOI request, what is going on? <a href="#top">#</a> </dt> + +<dd><p><%= site_name %> is a service run by a charity. It helps ordinary members +of the public make FOI requests, and easily track and share the responses.</p> + +<p>The FOI request you received was made by someone using <%= site_name %>. You can +simply reply to the request as you would any other request from an individual. +The only difference is that your response will be automatically published on +the Internet. +</p> +<p>If you have privacy or other concerns, please read the answers below. +You might also like to read the <a +href="/help/about">introduction to <%= site_name %></a> to find out more about what +the site does from the point of view of a user. You can also search the +site to find the authority that you work for, and view the status of +any requests made using the site. + +<p>Finally, we welcome comments and +thoughts from FOI officers, please <a href="/help/contact">get in touch</a>. +</p> +</dd> + +<dt id="responses">Why are you publishing responses to FOI requests? <a href="#responses">#</a> </dt> + +<dd>We think there are lots of benefits. Most importantly it will encourage the +public to be more interested and involved in the work of government. We +also hope that it will reduce the number of duplicate requests on any +subject that a public body will receive. Given that Freedom of Information +responses contain public information, which anybody could easily request +again from the public authority, we think there should be no reason not to +publish it widely. +</dd> + +<dt id="realpeople">Are the people making requests real people? <a href="#realpeople">#</a> </dt> + +<dd>Yes. For the purposes of keeping track of responses we use +computer-generated email addresses for each request. However, before +they can send a request, each user must register on the site with a +unique email address that we then verify. You can search this site and +find a page listing all requests that each person has made. +</dd> + +<dt id="email_only">An email isn't a sufficient address for an FOI request! <a href="#email_only">#</a> </dt> + +<dd>Yes it is. This +<a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1142/response/2894/attach/5/20080806100741260.pdf">letter from the ICO to Rother District Council</a> gives guidance on the matter, specifically +in the context of requests made via <%= site_name %>. +</dd> + +<dt id="vexatious">Aren't you making lots of vexatious requests? <a href="#vexatious">#</a> </dt> + +<dd><p><%= site_name %> is not making any requests. We are sending requests on +behalf of our users, who are real people making the requests. </p> +<p>Look at it like this - if lots of different people made requests from +different Hotmail email addresses, then you would not think that Microsoft were +making vexatious requests. It is exactly the same if lots of requests are made +via <%= site_name %>. Moreover, since all requests are public it is much easier +for you to see if one of our users is making vexatious requests. </p> +<p>If that isn't enough for you, the +<a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1142/response/2894/attach/5/20080806100741260.pdf">letter from the ICO to Rother District Council</a> gives some guidance on the matter.</p> +</dd> + +<dt id="spam_problems">I can see a request on <%= site_name %>, but we never got it by email!<a href="#spam_problems">#</a> </dt> + +<dd><p>If a request appears on the site, then we have attempted to send it to +the authority by email. Any delivery failure messages will automatically +appear on the site. You can check the address we're using with the "View FOI +email address" link which appears on the page for the authority. <a +href="/help/contact">Contact us</a> if there is a better address we can +use.</p> +<p>Requests are sometimes not delivered because they are quietly removed by +"spam filters" in the IT department of the authority. Authorities can make +sure this doesn't happen by asking their IT departments to "whitelist" +any email from <strong>@<%= AlaveteliConfiguration::incoming_email_domain %></strong>. +If you <a href="/help/contact">ask us</a> we will resend any request, +and/or give technical details of delivery so an IT department can chase +up what happened to the message. +</p> +<p>Finally, you can respond to any request from your web browser, without +needing any email, using the "respond to request" link at the bottom of +each request page. +</dd> + +<dt id="days">How do you calculate the deadline shown on request pages?<a href="#days">#</a> </dt> + +<dd> +<p>The Freedom of Information Act says:</p> + +<blockquote><p>A public authority must comply with section 1(1) <strong>promptly</strong> and +in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of +receipt.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The nerdy detail of exactly how weekends are counted, and what happens if +the request arrives out of office hours, is just that - detail. What matters +here is that the law says authorities must respond <strong>promptly</strong>.</p> + +<p>If you've got a good reason why the request is going to take a while to +process, requesters find it really helpful if you can send a quick email with a +sentence or two saying what is happening. </p> + +<p>FOI officers often have to do a lot of <strong>hard work</strong> to answer +requests, and this is hidden from the public. We think it would help everyone +to have more of that complexity visible.</p> + +</dd> + +<dt id="days2">But really, how do you calculate the deadline?<a href="#days2">#</a> </dt> + +<dd> + +<p>Please read the answer to the previous question first. Legally, authorities +must respond <strong>promptly</strong> to FOI requests. If they fail to do that, +it is best if they show the hard work they are doing by explaining what is +taking the extra time to do. +</p> + +<p>That said, <%= site_name %> does show the maximum legal deadline +for response on each request. Here's how we calculate it.</p> + +<ul> + +<li>If the day we deliver the request by email is a working day, we count that +as "day zero", even if it was delivered late in the evening. Days end at +midnight. We then count the next working day as "day one", and so on up to +<strong>20 working days</strong>.</li> + +<li>If the day the request email was delivered was a non-working day, we count +the next working day as "day one". Delivery is delivery, even if it happened on +the weekend. Some authorities <a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/policy_regarding_body_scans#incoming-1100">disagree with this</a>, our lawyer disagrees with them. </li> + +<li>Requesters are encouraged to mark when they have <strong>clarified</strong> +their request so the clock resets, but sometimes they get this wrong. If you +see a problem with a particular request, let us know and we'll fix it.</li> +</ul> + +<p>The date thus calculated is shown on requests with the text "By law, +Liverpool City Council should normally have responded by...". There is only +one case which is not normal, see the next question about +<a href="#public_interest_test">public interest test time extensions</a>. +</p> + +<p>Schools are also a special case, which <%= site_name %> displays differently. +</p> + +<ul> +<li>Since June 2009, <strong>schools</strong> have "20 working days +disregarding any working day which is not a school day, or 60 working days, +whichever is first" (<a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/draft/ukdsi_9780111477632_en_1">FOI (Time for Compliance with Request) Regulations 2009</a>). <%= site_name %> indicates on requests to schools that the 20 day deadline is only +during term time, and shows them as definitely overdue after 60 working days +</li> +</ul> + +<p>If you're getting really nerdy about all this, read the <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_specialist_guides/timeforcompliance.pdf">detailed ICO guidance</a>. +Meanwhile, remember that the law says authorities must respond +<strong>promptly</strong>. That's really what matters.</p> + +</dd> + +<dt id="public_interest_test">How do you reflect time extensions for public interest tests?<a href="#public_interest_test">#</a> </dt> + +<dd> + +<p>The Freedom of Information Act lets authorities claim an indefinite time +extension when applying a <strong>public interest test</strong>. Information +Commissioner guidance says that it should only be used in "exceptionally +complex" cases +(<a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_specialist_guides/foi_good_practice_guidance_4.pdf">FOI Good Practice Guidance No. 4</a>). +<%= site_name %> doesn't specifically handle this case, which is why we use the +phrase "should normally have responded by" when the 20 working day time is +exceeded. +</p> + +<p>The same guidance says that, even in exceptionally complex cases, no +Freedom of Information request should take more than <strong>40 working days</strong> +to answer. <%= site_name %> displays requests which are overdue by that much +with stronger wording to indicate they are definitely late. +</p> + +<p>The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act does not allow such a public +interest extension. <%= site_name %> would like to see the law changed to either +remove the extension from the UK Act, or to reintroduce an absolute time limit +of 40 working days even with the extension (the House of Lords <a +href="http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2000-10-17&number=1&house=lords">voted +to remove</a> provision for such a time limit during the initial passage +of the UK Act through Parliament). +</p> +</dd> + +<dt id="large_file">How can I send a large file, which won't go by email?<a href="#large_file">#</a> </dt> + +<dd>Instead of email, you can respond to a request directly from your web +browser, including uploading a file. To do this, choose "respond to request" at +the bottom of the request's page. <a href="/help/contact">Contact us</a> if it +is too big for even that (more than, say, 50Mb). +</dd> + +<dt id="names">Why do you publish the names of civil servants and the text of emails? <a href="#names">#</a> </dt> + +<dd>We consider what officers or servants do in the course of their employment +to be public information. We will only remove content in exceptional +circumstances, see our <a href="/help/privacy#takedown">take down policy</a>. +</dd> + +<dt id="mobiles">Do you publish email addresses or mobile phone numbers? <a href="#mobiles">#</a> </dt> + +<dd><p>To prevent spam, we automatically remove most emails and some mobile numbers from +responses to requests. Please <a href="/help/contact">contact us</a> if we've +missed one. +For technical reasons we don't always remove them from attachments, such as certain PDFs.</p> +<p>If you need to know what an address was that we've removed, please <a + href="/help/contact">get in touch with us</a>. Occasionally, an email address +forms an important part of a response and we will post it up in an obscured +form in an annotation. +</dd> + +<dt id="copyright"><a name="commercial"></a>What is your policy on copyright of documents?<a href="#copyright">#</a> </dt> + +<dd>Our Freedom of Information law is "applicant blind", so anyone in the +world can request the same document and get a copy of it. + +If you think our making a document available on the internet infringes your +copyright, you may <a href="/help/contact">contact us</a> and ask us +to take it down. However, to save tax payers' money by preventing duplicate +requests, and for good public relations, we'd advise you not to do that. +</dd> + +</dl> + + +</dl> + +<p><strong>If you haven't already</strong>, read <a href="/help/about">the introduction</a> --> +<br><strong>Otherwise</strong>, the <a href="/help/credits">credits</a> or the <a href="/help/api">programmers API</a> --> + +<div id="hash_link_padding"></div> + + +</div> |