Re-use of information

Background

This European law was brought into the UK on 1st July 2005 and means that public bodies, such as Eastleigh Borough Council must follow the Regulations when permitting re-use of their information. 

The Regulations aim to remove barriers to people re-using public sector information.  The main aims of the Regulations are:

• Fairness
• Transparency
• Timing
• Openness
• Consistency

Re-use is defined in the Regulations as "a purpose other than the initial purpose that the document was produced for".  An example of a re-use request is where a student may wish to re-use information from Eastleigh Borough Councils website for a project.

Links with Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives a right of access to Eastleigh Borough Council information for personal use only.  The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 set a framework that Eastleigh Borough Council must follow if a person requests to re-use information.  Re-use must be requested where the information will be re-published by the requestor.

This will allow more people to view the re-used information and improve the information industry throughout Europe.  The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 also includes a 20 working day deadline to link with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

An Information Asset list will be compiled, this will link to the current Freedom of Information Publication Scheme and will list re-usable information held by each department at Eastleigh Borough Council.  The list will also show where to get the information from.  Standard terms and conditions will be included on the requested material under the Copyright to Eastleigh Borough Council.

Licences

To re-use information that has commercial value a licence may need to be obtained, for example, where Eastleigh Borough Council information is re-published by a private body who then makes commercial gain.  The licence will contain terms and conditions of re-use.  There may be a charge for the licence, this will be published on the Information Asset Register.  Standard licences have been set up by the Office of Public Sector Information for public bodies to adapt for their own use.  Contact details for a licence will be on the requested material.

View a copy of the licence, this lists the standard terms of re-use.  Licence terms may vary where the information requested has commercial value.

• More information on re-use of public sector information

Before requesting to re-use Eastleigh Borough Council information, the information must either be:

• identified by Eastleigh Borough Council for re-use in the Publication Scheme/Information Asset List, or
• provided to you already or,
• be otherwise accessible without making a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Exclusions

There are some exclusions to where the regulations apply, these are:

• If the activity falls outside Eastleigh Borough Councils core responsibilities.
• Where a third party holds the intellectual property right. 

In this case the Council will give a written reason for refusal, along with the identity of the third party if known, if the third party is not known the source of the document from which the Council obtained the document from will be disclosed. 

How to request re-use of information

To request re-use of Eastleigh Borough Council information the request must be in writing, include your name and address and specify the document required, along with the way you will re-use the information.

A charge may apply but will not exceed the cost of collection, production, reproduction and dissemination of the document and a reasonable return on investment.  You will not be double charged where the information has been accessed, with a charge, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Standard charges policy for the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005