The Council holds information about its activities, its finances and a range of other matters that may be of interest to residents, businesses and other members of the public.

We publish much of this information on our website, so it’s worth searching for the topic you are interested in before submitting a formal request.

Requesting information

• View our Disclosure Log
• Request an FOI/EIR request
• Request a Subject Access Request

When completing either form, you should give us as much detail as possible to help us identify the information you are looking for.

The information you provide on this form will be used for handling your request and will be shared with relevant persons to allow us to process it. 
For further details of how we use your information and to understand your rights please visit our privacy policy.

Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004

You have the right to ask us for the recorded information we hold on any subject.

Further information can be found:

• Guide to making a freedom of information request
• Accessing information from a public body

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 gives you the right to access and ask for non-confidential information held by Bexley Council and other public bodies.

The Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004 gives you the right to ask for and access environmental information held by Bexley Council and other public bodies. When you request information relating to the environment, we will determine if your request should be dealt with under the FOIA or EIR.

Making a freedom of information request

Before submitting a new Freedom of Information Request, you should check our disclosure log to find out whether we've provided the information you're looking for before.

As we receive a lot of enquiries about the same topics, we have made the information publicly available. If you are looking for information about the following areas, you may find it by clicking one of the links below:

• Business rates (updated quarterly)
• Planning applications
• Parking Fines
• Contracts Register
• Empty commercial properties (updated quarterly)

If you have been unable to access the information you require by taking the steps above, you can submit a new request for information.

To request an FOI/EIR request, you can use the Freedom of Information request form or email foi@bexley.gov.uk.

Response time

We will respond to your request as soon as possible, and within 20 working days of us receiving your written request.

If your request is unclear, we will contact you to find out exactly what information you are looking for. 
The 20 working days begins from the date you confirm details of your request.

In some instances, we may extend the deadline to 40 working days, where the information requested is complex. In these cases, we will notify you and explain the reasons why.

Fees and charges

If we can provide the information within 18 hours of staff time, there will be no charge. Should your request be likely to take more than 18 hours, we will contact you and ask you to change and resubmit your request, where possible, so that the information can be given to you without exceeding the £450 limit. (18 hours is the equivalent to a total cost of £450, using the Government’s hourly rate of £25 per hour).

Please see our Charging Policy for further information. 

Exempt information

Some types of information cannot be disclosed under the Act. This may mean that all or part of the information you have requested cannot be disclosed.

If we cannot provide you with the information because it is exempt from disclosure, we will write to tell you.

More information on data that is exempt can be found under the Freedom of Information Act.

Making a Subject Access Request

If you would like to access your personal information, you will need to submit a Subject Access Request (SAR).

We need you to provide the following information:

• full name
• date of birth
• photo ID
• email address, if you have one
• proof of current postal address dated within the past three months (e.g. bank statement or utility bill)
• specific details of the information you require

Please note that there are documents that we cannot provide, for example:

• Police Merlins
• Multi-agency meeting details
• NHS / medical records
• school records
• any other third-party information

For clarification, third-party information would include details of other family members, neighbours, agencies involved etc.

If you, as a parent (holding Parental Responsibility), wish to access your child’s information and they are over the age of 12, we would need to seek their consent to share any documents with you.

To request a Subject Access Request, use the Subject Access Request form.

We aim to acknowledge all SARs within two working days and provide you with files requested within one calendar month, depending on the size and age of the files requested. Very large files, or any that have been archived due to age, may take significantly longer to retrieve.

Further information about the SAR process can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

Appeal process

The Council’s response letter will provide you with details on how to appeal against a decision.

If you are not happy our response to that appeal, you can ask the Information Commissioner to look investigate your request has been handled.