ACCESS TO INFORMATION
This section explains how you can access information from PBNI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) and the Data Protection Act (DPA). It also explains how to complain if you are not happy with how your request for information has been dealt with.
Freedom of Information
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) you have the right to access information held by public authorities. Some information may not be available because it falls within one of the exemptions of the Act. When that happens, we will tell you which exemption applies and, in most cases, why the information cannot be provided.
We make a lot of information available already. Before you decide to make a request, please consider if the information is already available. To do this you can:
Freedom of Information
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI) you have the right to access information held by public authorities. Some information may not be available because it falls within one of the exemptions of the Act. When that happens, we will tell you which exemption applies and, in most cases, why the information cannot be provided.How to request information from us
We make a lot of information available already. Before you decide to make a request, please consider if the information is already available. To do this you can:
- Search our website for the information
- Check our publication scheme (PDF, 500KB)
(The publication scheme outlines the classes of information that PBNI holds and how we publish this information)
If you still can’t find what you are looking for, or you require information available on our website in a different form (a hard copy, for example) you may ask for it by making a written request to local PBNI office or by email.
Fees
Usually there is no charge for providing information under the Freedom of Information Act. If it takes more than 18 hours to locate, retrieve and extract the information a Fee (PDF, 113KB) may be applicable. We will let you know in advance if there is to be any charges.
Freedom of Information Procedures
For information on PBNI’s procedures on handling requests please see our factsheet on Freedom of Information Requests (PDF, 104KB)
Personal Data
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) you have the right to ask PBNI to inform you whether it processes any personal information relating to you and if so to provide you with a copy of such data. This is called a subject access request.
How to request personal information from us
If you wish to access your personal information from PBNI you should make your request in writing to your local PBNI office or by email.
Fees
There is no charge for making a subject access request.
Data Protection Procedures
For information on PBNI’s procedures on handling requests please see our factsheet on Data Protection Requests (PDF, 149KB)
How we handle your personal information.
PBNI hold personal information for the purposes of our work, particularly preparing reports for court, supervising offenders, giving information to victims and employing staff. For further information please see our Fair Processing Statement (PDF, 40KB)
Further Advice
You may find the information leaflet “Your Right to Know” (PDF, 230KB) helpful when making your request. This will provide you with further guidance on how to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, (FOI) Environmental Information Act (EIR) and Data Protection Act. (DPA)
Complaints
If you are not satisfied with how your request for information has been handled, you can make a complaint.
If you are not happy with outcome of our internal complaints procedure you can appeal against the decision to the Information Commissioner who will decide if your request has been handled properly. Check out the Information Commissioner’s website for more details, www.ico.gov.uk