FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Preface to the North Lanarkshire Leisure Model Publication Scheme 2015
Introduction
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities (which includes North Lanarkshire Leisure) to adopt and maintain a publication scheme.
Authorities are under a legal obligation to:
- publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
- tell the public how to access the information they publish and whether information is available free of charge or on payment.
The Act also allows for the development of model publication schemes which can be adopted by more than one authority.
North Lanarkshire Leisure is committed to the principles of Freedom of Information and has adopted the 2015 Model Publication Scheme which has been produced and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner. It is approved until 31 May 2019.
Contents
Section 2: About North Lanarkshire Leisure
Section 3: Accessing Information Under the Scheme
Section 4: Information that we may withhold
Section 5: Our changing policy
Section 6: Our Copyright Policy
Section 8: Contact Details for enquiries, feedback and complaints
Section 9: How to access information which is not available in the Guide to Information
Section 10: Classes of Information
The 2015 Model Publication Scheme
Adoption commits North Lanarkshire Leisure to:
- adopting this model scheme without amending it
- publishing the information, including environmental information, that we hold and which falls within the classes of information below.
- ensuring that the way in which we publish our information meets the Model Publication Scheme 2015 Principles.
- producing a Guide to Information which sets out the information that North Lanarkshire Leisure publishes through this model scheme, how to access it, whether there is a charge for it and how to get help to access information.
- notifying the Scottish Information Commissioner that we have adopted this model scheme.
Model Publication Scheme 2015 principles
North Lanarkshire Leisure is also committed to the Six Principles of the 2015 Model Publication Scheme as outlined below
Principle One: Availability and formats
- Information published through this model scheme will, wherever possible, be made available on North Lanarkshire Leisures’ website.
- We will make alternative arrangements for people who do not wish to, or who cannot, access the information either online or by inspection at one of our venues or offices. North Lanarkshire Leisure could, for example, arrange to send out information in paper copy on request (although there may be a charge for doing so), which is covered in a later section of this guide.
Principle Two: Exempt information
- If information described by the classes cannot be published and is exempt under Scotland’s freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal data or a trade secret), North Lanarkshire Leisure may withhold the information or provide a redacted version for publication, but when this occurs, we will explain why we have done so.
Principle Three: Copyright and re-use
- North Lanarkshire Leisures’ Guide to Information includes a copyright statement which is consistent with the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Where we do not hold the copyright in information we publish, we will make this clear.
- Any conditions applied to the re-use of published information must be consistent with the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 (1)
- The Commissioner recommends that authorities consider using the Open Government Licence, produced by The National Archives for their published information
(1) To be revised as a result of Directive 2013/37/EU by summer 2015
Principle Four: Charges
- The Guide to Information will contain a charging schedule, explaining any charges we may levy and how they will be calculated.
- No charge will be made to view information on North Lanarkshire Leisures’ website or at venues or offices, except where there is a fee set by other legislation, for example, for access to some registers.
- NLL may charge for computer discs, photocopying, postage and packing and other costs associated with supplying information. The charge will be no more than these elements actually cost North Lanarkshire Leisure for example, the cost per photocopy or postage. There wiill be no further charges for information in Classes 1 – 7 below. An exception is made for commercial publications (see Class 8 below) where pricing may be based on market value.
Principle Five: Contact details
- North Lanarkshire Leisure will provide contact details for enquiries about any aspect of the adoption of the model scheme, our Guide to Information and how to ask for copies of North Lanarkshire Leisures’ published information.
- North Lanarkshire Leisure will also provide reasonable advice and assistance to anyone who wants to request information which is not published. Our Guide to Information provides contact details to access this help.
Principle Six: Duration
- Once published through the Guide to Information, the information will be available for the current and previous two financial years. Where information has been updated or superseded, only the current version will available (although previous versions may be requested from North Lanarkshire Leisure.
Classes of Information
The Information Commissioner has identified 8 Classes of Information which North Lanarkshire Leisure will provide information on, including:
- About North Lanarkshire Leisure
- How we deliver our functions and services
- How we take decisions and what we have decided
- What we spend and how we spend it
- How we manage our human, physical and information resources
- How we procure goods and services from external providers
- How we are performing
- Our commercial publications
NLL’s Guide to Information
Model Publication Scheme 2015
Section 1: Introduction
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to adopt and maintain a publication scheme which has the approval of the Scottish Information Commissioner, and publish information in accordance with that scheme. The publication scheme must:
- publish the classes of information that the authority makes routinely available
- tell the public how to access the information and whether information is available free of charge or on payment
North Lanarkshire Leisure (NLL) has been designated as a Scottish Public Authority by an order made under section 5 of the Act, known as the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Designation of Persons as Scottish Public Authorities) Order 2013.
North Lanarkshire Leisure has adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2015 which has been produced and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner. It is approved until 31 May 2019.
You can see this scheme on our website at www.nlleisure.co.uk. It is also available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website at www.itspublicknowledge.info
You can also contact us at the address below if you prefer a copy of the Model Publication Scheme 2015, or this Guide to Information, to be provided in a different format.
The purpose of the Guide to Information is to:
- allow the public to see what information is available (and what is not available) from North Lanarkshire Leisure in relation to each class in the Model Publication Scheme 2015
- state what charges may be applied
- explain how to find the information easily
- provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with access to the information
- explain how to request information that has not been published.
Alongside the Act, the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs) provide a separate right of access to the environmental information that we hold. This guide to information also contains details of the environmental information that we routinely make available.
Section 2: About North Lanarkshire Leisure
North Lanarkshire Leisure was established on the 16th September 2006 and has been delivering sport, leisure, recreation and physical activity services throughout the North Lanarkshire area since then.
We believe in the power of sport and physical activity to improve individual quality of life and collective quality of living to make a positive impact across all at all stages of the sports development continuum whether that be a toddler or a pensioner learning to swim or ride a bike for the first time through to supporting medal winning athletes, coaches and the voluntary sector for sport.
We are a company limited by guarantee, Co. No. SC303391 incorporated under the Companies Act 1985 by Companies House, Edinburgh.
North Lanarkshire Leisure is also registered as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator under the Charities and Trustees Investments (Scotland) Act 2005.
As a body on the register, North Lanarkshire Leisure may refer to itself as a ‘charity’, a ‘charitable body’, a ‘registered charity’ or a ‘charity registered in Scotland’. It has been set up under the law of Scotland and is managed wholly in Scotland. It may also refer to itself as ‘a Scottish charity’ or a ‘registered Scottish charity’ with the Charity No. SCO37439.
More information on North Lanarkshire Leisure and our venues, services, activities and programmes can be found in the various ‘Classes of Information’ under Section 10 of this guide
Section 3: Accessing Information Under the Scheme
Availability and formats
The information published through this Guide to Information is, wherever possible, available on our website. We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this – see “Section 5 – Our Charging Policy”).
How to Contact Us:
North Lanarkshire Leisure has many channels available which provide a great deal of information, including details of how to get in touch with us, such as:
- Online - most of the information listed in this guide to information is available to download from our website, free of charge at www.nlleisure.co.uk.
- By email – if the information you seek is listed in our guide to information but is not published on our website we can send it to you if you email a request to info@nlleisure.com
- By post, please address your request to:
- FOI Officer, North Lanarkshire Leisure, Broadwood Stadium, 1 Ardgoil Drive, Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, G68 9NE
- By phone, please call the FOI Officer on 01236 341 968
- In person, by visiting any of our venues or NLL Headquarters at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. Where staff within our venues are unable to satisfy your specific enquiry, they can easily refer your request to Headquarters.
- When seeking information that is not contained in this ‘Guide to Information’ please also provide a telephone number and your contact details so that we can call you to clarify exactly the information you are seeking and advise you if any charges if applicable..
- Help – If you have any difficulty in identifying the information you are looking for, or you require the information to be provided in other languages and/or other formats, please contact us and we will be happy to provide advice and assistance.
- We also publish and provide a lot of information on our venues, programmes, services, events, news and activities via a number of social media channels, including (please click to link to the appropriate social media channel):
- NLL Facebook Channel
- NLL Twitter Channel
- NLLs’ You Tube Channel; and
- NLL’s Flickr Channel
Exempt information:
We will publish all the information we hold that falls within the classes of information in Section 10. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland’s freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we will remove or redact (black out) the information before publication and explain why.
Section 4: Information that we may withhold
All information covered by our Guide to Information can either be accessed through our website, or will be provided promptly following our receipt of your request.
Our aim in adopting the Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme 2015 and in maintaining this Guide to Information is to be as open as possible. There may be certain limited circumstances where information can be withheld from one of the classes of information listed in “Section 10 – Classes of Information”. Information will only be withheld, however, where the Act (or, in the case of environmental information, the EIRs) expressly permits it.
Information may be withheld where its disclosure would breach the law of confidentiality, harm an organisation’s commercial interests, or endanger the protection of the environment. Information may also be withheld where it contains someone else’s’ personal information, and where its release would breach data protection legislation.
Whenever information is withheld we will inform you of this, and will set out why that information cannot be released. Even where information is withheld it may be possible to provide copies with the withheld information edited out.
Section 5: Our charging policy
Unless otherwise stated in “Section 10 – Classes of Information”, all information contained within our scheme is available from us free of charge where it can be downloaded from our website or where it can be sent electronically by e-mail.
We reserve the right to impose charges for providing information in paper copy or on computer disc. Charges will reflect the actual costs to North Lanarkshire Leisure of supplying the information, e.g. photocopying and postage, as outlined below.
If a charge is to be levied, we will inform you of the charge and how it has been calculated, with the information being supplied once payment has been received.
Information Copying Charges
We may charge at cost for providing information to cover costs such as photocopying and postage and we will advise you what the cost is and gain your agreement to incur these costs before we provide the information.
Some typical costs are noted in the table below
| Item | Typical Cost/Notes |
| A4 Black & White Photocopy | £0.10 |
| A4 Colour Photocopy | £0.20 |
| A3 Black & White Photocopy | £0.20 |
| A3 Colour Photocopy | £0.40 |
| Information provided on electronic media, such as CD, memory stick or via other media format | Charges will be based on the cost to NLL of obtaining the appropriate electronic media to record the information onto |
| Postage Charges | Postage costs may be charged at the rate we pay to send the information to you by Royal Mail First Class. |
| Publications | When providing copies of pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run. |
Section 6: Our Copyright Policy
North Lanarkshire Leisure has adopted the Open Government Licence for public sector information http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence
This sets out what you can and cannot do with our published information where we are the copyright holder. Where North Lanarkshire Leisure does not hold the copyright for information we publish, we will make this clear in this Guide.
Where North Lanarkshire Leisure holds the copyright in its published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:
• it is copied or reproduced accurately
• it is not used in a misleading context, and
• the source of the material is identified.
Section 7: Records management
North Lanarkshire Leisure regards its records as a major asset of the Company, since they are one of the essential resources which support management in the efficient and effective fulfilment of its governance, business and legal responsibilities.
Section 8: Contact details for enquiries, feedback and complaints
The Act requires that we review our publication scheme from time to time. As we have adopted the Model Publication Scheme 2015, this means we will review our Guide to Information from time to time.
As a result, we welcome feedback on how we can develop our guide further. If you would like to comment on any aspect of this Guide to Information, then please contact us.
All enquiries, feedback and complaints relating to this Guide to Information, or any other aspect of Freedom of Information, Data Protection and the EIRs should be directed to:
FOI Officer
North Lanarkshire Leisure
Broadwood Stadium
1 Ardgoil Drive
Cumbernauld
North Lanarkshire
G68 9NE
01236 341 968
Section 9: How to access information which is not available in the Guide to Information
If the information you are looking for is not available through our Publication Scheme, you may wish to request this from us.
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOI) provides you with a right of access to the information we hold, subject to certain exemptions. The aim of this Act is to increase openness and transparency by allowing people access to information about how decisions are taken and how public services are delivered.
Requests must be in writing, or in a permanent form such as e-mail, video or audio tape and should be sent to the contact details below.
Timescale
You can expect to receive a response within 20 working days (from the date we receive your payment, if applicable), though we may ask you for clarification to help us locate and retrieve the information you are interested in.
Costs
A cost for providing the information you request may be incurred depending on the expense involved in locating, retrieving, collating and providing this information.
- There will be no charge for information requests which cost us £100 or less to process.
- There may be a charge for information requests which cost us over £100 and up to £600.
- We are not obliged to respond to requests which will cost us over £600 to process.
- You will be advised in advance if a fee will apply.
Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA)
North Lanarkshire Leisure is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and at all times comply with the terms of the Act when processing personal data. The DPA provides you with a right of access to any personal information about you that we hold. This right is subject to certain exceptions or exemptions.
You must supply enough information for us to find the data you have requested along with proof that you are the person mentioned in the data.
Requests must be in writing, or in a permanent form such as e-mail, video or audio tape and should be sent to the contact details below.
Timescale
You can expect to receive a response within 40 calendar days (from the date we receive your payment), though we may ask you for clarification to help us locate and retrieve the information you are interested in.
Costs
The charge is a standard fee of £10 plus any reproduction and postage costs.
Contact Details
You can request information, as detailed above, by sending full details of your request to:
By e-mail: Info@nlleisure.com
By post: FOI Officer
North Lanarkshire Leisure
Broadwood HQ
1 Ardgoil Drive
Cumbernauld
G68 9NE
Charge for request for your own personal data
The charge is a standard fee of £10.00 plus any reproduction and postage costs (both on the same basis as for FOI requests).
Section 10: Classes of information
This section identifies the classes of information that North Lanarkshire Leisure provides information on, including the description from the Information Commissioner on what type of information may fall within each of the classes :
| Class | Description | ||
| 1 | About the authority | Information about the authority, who we are, where to find us, how to contact us, how we are managed and our external relations | |
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| 2 | How we deliver our functions and services | Information about our work, our strategies and policies for delivering functions and services and information for our service users | |
The overall purpose of the NLL is to:
NLL is responsible for the management and operation of around 20 sports venues including: NLL is responsible for the management and operation of around 20 sports venues including:
NLL is also responsible for providing specific services with associated programmes, including:
Venues The main venues that NLL operates are noted below, with links to the appropriate venue pages on NLL’s website underscored:
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| 3 | How we take decisions and what we have decided | Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others | |
North Lanarkshire Leisure is led by our Chief Executive Officer and governed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors consist of six Directors who are elected members of North Lanarkshire Council and six independent directors from business, sport, health and the voluntary sector, a trade union and an employee representative. The Board of Directors meet on around six occasions per year to consider all aspects of the of the business in delivering against our financial, social, charitable, economic and environmental business development objectives. The Board of Directors provide their services on an entirely voluntary basis and the broad spectrum of fields from which they are drawn helps inform the decision making process. | |||
| 4 | What we spend and how we spend it | Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources (in sufficient detail to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent) | |
NLL has an executive Financial Director in place to oversee and manage all the financial functions of the company. In addition, there is also an Audit Committee comprising representation from the Board of Trustees and our Senior Financial staff who meet regularly. NLL manages its Business in accordance with the good governance arrangements, out lined for Arms Length Organisations contained in Audit Scotlands’ Following the Public Pound document. NLL is subject to regular internal audit and checks and balances put in place by our Audit Committee and also subject to a regular and rigorous annual external Audit from our External Auditors. The Annual Report provides and annual account of the financial performance of the business and how we have performed against our wider business development objectives. The Annual Report is provided to Companies House and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) NLL was one of the first sport and leisure trusts in the UK to undertake a Social Return on Investment (SROI) exercise which illustrated that for every £1 invested in NLL there is a £4.10 community benefit return in social, health and economic terms. This SROI report is available to download by clicking here. | |||
| 5 | How we manage our human, physical and information resources | Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the authority. | |
The list below outlines the current human resource policies that we have available, including:
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| 6 | How we procure goods and services from external providers | Information about how we procure goods and services and our contracts with external providers | |
NLL works within the public and European procurement guidelines and where we require to engage external providers in procuring goods and services, this is done through an open, transparent and audited process. Depending on the value quotations and tenders are sought and evaluated using the CIPFA (Certified Institute of Professional Financial Accountants)) cost quality model to determine the ‘most economically advantageous tender’ and therefore that North Lanarkshire Leisure is getting the best value for money in the use of the public pound. Please find a copy of NLL’s Financial Regulations here and Standing Orders here.
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| 7 | How we are performing |
Information about how we perform as an organisation and how well we deliver our functions and services.
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NLL’s principle purpose is to increase participation and improve performance in sport and physical activity and to ensure that more people are more active, more often. This mirrors both Scotlands’ National Sports and Physical Activity strategies is helping to improve the health of the people of the area in accordance with health improvement, health promotion and treatment and rehabilitation. NLL has a number of key and statutory performance indicators which we regularly report on that assesses the performance improvements across a whole range of business and charitable operations, whether this be venues, activities, services and programmes. Our current and the previous to annual reports are available to download by clicking the links below: NLL Annual Reports covering the periods: In addition, NLL prepares quarterly performance reports for our Board of Directors which can be made available on request to the Freedom of Information Officer. These reports are subsequently placed before North Lanarkshire Councils’ Learning & Leisure Services Committee and are subsequently available to search and download from North Lanarkshire Councils’ Meetings, Agendas and Reports system by clicking the link here. Information sourced here will be subject to North Lanarkshire Councils’ copyright arrangements. Clicking the link below will open up a document which outlines the majority of NLL’s performance achievements since the leisure trust was formed on the 16th September 2006. Click here for the link to NLL Achievements document. Click here for NLL’s Service Excellence Policy.
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| 8 | Our commercial publications | Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis and sold at market value through a retail outlet e.g., bookshop, museum or research journal. | |
NLL does not currently package information for sale on a commercial basis. Most information is either widely available via our website and/or social media or available through a variety channels and different formats or can be made available on request in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information legislation. | |||
| 9 | Our board meetings |
Minutes from our board meetings
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