Fees and Charges

• The Data Protection Act 2018
• The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
• The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs)

There is no charge for submitted Freedom of Information (FOI), Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) or Subject Access Request (SAR) requests. However, in some cases, we may have to charge a fee to cover the costs of providing the information. For example, where there are administrative or photocopying costs or for postal and packaging. If a charge is required, the cost will be in line with the published list of fees.

Charges for FOI

We do not charge for processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, providing that the cost of processing does not exceed the statutory limit of £450.  

The appropriate limit is set at 18 hours (or £450) and is outlined below.

The cost of £450 will be calculated at £25 per person per hour for the time taken to:

 • determine whether the information is held 

• locate and retrieve it, and 

• extract the information from any document(s) containing it 

We won’t take into account any time spent: 

• deciding whether information should be released, or 

• applying exemptions, or • considering the public interest test 

If a request is considered to exceed £450, where possible we will help you try to refine your request so that it falls within the cost threshold.

If a charge is to be made, we’ll issue you with a fee notice within the 20 working day period for responding to your request and will provide you with the requested information upon payment of the fee. You will have 60 working days following issue of the notification to make the payment. If you do not pay within this period, the request will be closed.

Disbursements

Sending a request via email (including scanned images) will be done free of charge.

If you request us to print, photocopy or post your request, a fee will be charged if the total cost amounts to more than £5.

Royal Mail Costs Table (Subject to Change in line with Royal Mail fees)

Library Printing/Photocopying Charges

Putting the information in any preferred format you have requested (for example DVD, CD-ROM, video or audio cassette). We will charge you the actual cost to us of doing this.

We will waive any charges which we estimate to be, or which are, less than £5.

Charges for EIR

Unlike FOIA, there is no ‘appropriate limit’ for requests for information dealt with under EIR. The regulations state that Tameside Council can provide a ‘reasonable charge’ for providing Environmental Information. 

However, for consistency, rather than applying a ‘reasonable charge’ the Council has decided not to charge for EIR requests provided the cost of the EIR request does not exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ specified in the FOIA Fees Regulations.

In rare cases, we may refuse a request where the cost of processing is manifestly unreasonable.  For example, where processing would place an unreasonable burden upon the Council, either in terms of officer time or the costs of reproducing the information sought. 

This means that if the request cannot be narrowed down and we feel it is manifestly unreasonable and going to take over 18 hours we will charge £25 per hour for staff time on the full request. This will be issued under a fee notice within 10-20 working days of receiving your request. You will have 60 working days following the issue of the notification to make the payment. If you do not pay within this period, the request will be closed.

There may be other charges for Environmental Information which will be covered in the Council Fees and Charges document on the Council website here: Fees & Charges Schedule

Sending a request via email (including scanned images) this will be done free of charge.

If you request us to print, photocopy or post your request, a fee will be charged if the total cost amounts to more than £5.

What we can’t charge for under EIR

Regulation 8(2) makes clear that public authorities cannot charge for:

• access to a public register or list of environmental information
• examine the information requested at the place which the public authority makes available for that purpose
• published data sets
• information published in our disclosure log

However, if the applicant requires photocopies of documents, this would be chargeable under the photocopying fees under Disbursements.

Aggregation of requests

If the Council received within 60 days two or more similar requests from the same person or from different persons who appear to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign, then those requests will be aggregated for the purposes of estimating costs.

For example, if we receive three related requests costing £400 each, we can treat them as costing a total of £1,200, and we’re entitled to refuse to process the requests. If that appears to be the case, we’ll explain why.

Charges for SAR

We do not charge for Subject Access Requests, except where we deem the request ‘manifestly excessive or unfounded’. In this instance, we may either refuse the request or charge you an administrative fee for providing the information based on the above principles. If we receive a duplicate request where information has been provided previously, we may charge a fee especially if this was requested in paper format. These fees will be in line with the Disbursement charges above.

Refunds 

If the actual cost of answering the request turns out to be greater than the estimated amount charged, the additional cost will be borne by the Council. 

There is no provision for another Fees Notice to be issued. 

If the actual cost is lower than the amount charged, the Council will refund the excess amount where this is greater than £5. 

Care will be taken to ensure that estimated fees are as accurate as possible to prevent overcharging or undercharging.

Waiver of Costs

Each request will be considered on its own merit and in exceptional circumstances e.g. hardship, we may waive the charges of producing the information.

VAT

Whether or not you can charge VAT depends on whether the information is only available from you (or another public authority). If the requested information is only available from a public authority, any charges would not attract VAT.

However, if the requested information is available from another source that is not a public authority, you can add VAT to the fee.

Complaints 

Any complaints regarding the fees and charges will be dealt with through the Council’s complaints procedure.

Review of Charges

The fees and charges set out on this page will be reviewed annually.

Equalities

In line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, we can make reasonable adjustments to help if you have a disability that prevents you from making use of our services. We can also help if English is not your first language. If you need any support in accessing our services, please let us know as soon as possible. If you require information in an alternative format, there will be no charge for the cost of providing the information in this format.