Contact Us

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Requests for information

The Freedom of Information Act came into full force on 1 January 2005 when applicants were able to exercise their full right to request access to any information a public authority holds. Held means information recorded in any format.

If you require information about yourself held by Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, this is dealt with under data protection law. Please visit our Data Protection page for more information.

One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is that public authorities should be clear and proactive about the information they make available to the public. The Act is intended to encourage organisations to make more information available to the public and to develop a greater culture of transparency and openness.

Making a Freedom of Information request

For your request to be dealt with according to the Freedom of Information Act, you must:

  • make the request in writing, preferably via email to informationGovernance@cumbriafire.gov.uk or alternatively you can post the request to Information Governance, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Headquarters, Carleton Avenue, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2FA
  • give your full name
  • give an address to which we can reply. This can be a postal or email address.
  • Provide a clear description of what information you want.
  • Include dates or other details that will help CFRS search for the information you want.

Please note requests for opinions, explanations or comments on Fire Service business are not considered a valid request under the Freedom of Information Act.

For advice and assistance on making a Freedom of Information request please email informationGovernance@cumbriafire.gov.uk

How long do we have to respond?

Normally we need to respond to your request within 20 working days.

If we ask you to clarify your request, the clock is paused until you have provided clarification.

We also may need to extend the time taken to respond to an FOI request if we need to consider the balance of the public interest in disclosing or withholding information you have requested. If we do extend we will contact you within the initial 20 working days. For EIR requests, we can take up to 40 working days if the request is complex.

Will you receive all the requested information?

Not always.

You have the right to access information that already exists but we do not have to create new information to respond to your request. We are not required to answer questions unless we already hold the answer as recorded information.

If we do not hold the information you’ve requested we will explain that to you.

We can also refuse your request if it is vexatious, repeated or if it would cost too much to comply. This is to protect public money.

If Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service estimates that complying with a FOI request would cost more than £450 (which under Section 12 of FOIA equates to 18 hours of work), then we can refuse your request. 

Under EIR, there isn’t a set cost limit beyond which we can refuse a request but we can refuse requests if the cost would be manifestly unreasonable.

Being as specific as possible in your request helps reduce the cost of responding to it. You are then more likely to get the information.

We can refuse a request if it is vexatious (FOI) or manifestly unreasonable (EIR). This means that the request is likely to cause a disproportionate or unjustifiable level of disruption, irritation or distress.

Can we withhold information?

Yes. There are valid reasons why a public authority may refuse or partially refuse your request for information. Specific parts of the legislation set out these reasons. They’re called ‘exemptions’ under the FOIA and ‘exceptions’ under EIR.

See below list of exemptions that Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service may use:

  • Section 21 - Information accessible by other means
  • Section 22 - Information intended for future publication
  • Section 24 - National Security
  • Section 30 - Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities
  • Section 31 - Law enforcement
  • Section 38 - Health & Safety
  • Section 40 - Personal data
  • Section 41 - Information provided in confidence
  • Section 42 - Legal Professional Privilege
  • Section 43 - Commercial interests

What If you are not satisfied with the response

Step 1: You can ask us to carry out an internal review within 40 working days of the response.  It can help with the review if you can explain why you disagree with the response. The internal review will be responded to within another 20 working days and will be carried out by an officer independent of the initial response.

Step 2: If you’re unhappy with the outcome of the internal review, you can then complain to the ICO who will make an independent assessment of the response you received.

The ICO website at www.ico.org.uk provides detailed advice on your information rights and how you can make a complaint.