Publication Scheme

What is a Publication Scheme?

The Freedom of Information Act places an obligation on a public authority to adopt and maintain a publication scheme, which must be approved by the Information Commissioner.

Essentially, a publication scheme is:

A commitment on the part of the council to make information available routinely, without waiting for someone specifically to request it
A guide to information we publish, or intend to publish, routinely - not limited to that which is in printed form, but including that held in other ways, for example in electronic form
A means of enabling the public to understand better what is available to them, and how they may have access to the information they seek

The publication scheme must specify:

classes of information which the public authority publishes or intends to publish
the manner in which information of each class is, or is intended to be, published and
whether the material is, or is intended to be, available to the public free of charge or on payment

How do I request information?

You can request information from the city council using any method listed at the end of the Publication Scheme document under the section "Who do I contact?".

Under the Freedom of Information Act you do not need to have a particular reason for requesting information, but it might help the city council to identify and provide you with the information you need if you can be as specific as possible. You will be able to use the information provided under the Act and pass it on to anyone else.

There will normally be no charge for making a request for information which is contained in the Publication Scheme (with the exception of a few specific documents).

Download the Publication Scheme

We have published our Publication Scheme on this web site and the documents can, of course, be viewed or downloaded free of charge from the bottom of this page.

Hard copies of the Publication Scheme may be obtained upon request from the city council's main reception at Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Salford M27 5DA.

The scheme may also be supplied by email, and requests should be sent to freedomofinformation@salford.gov.uk.