Communities and Local Government Publication Scheme

A guide to the information Communities and Local Government publishes including costs and availability.

Communities and Local Government Publication Scheme is available to download from the foot of this page. The Scheme:

Has been developed under the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 and has been agreed by the Information Commissioner
Provides a guide to the information Communities and Local Government publishes or has agreed to make available in the light of FOI
Specifies the classes or categories of information published by Communities and Local Government, its agencies and the Government Offices for the Regions
Explains how to obtain that information including the length of time each type of content is retained online
Indicates whether information is available free of charge or on payment

For people who need information in alternative formats, we will take all reasonable steps to make the material available.

The Publication Scheme is not a list of the actual publications. To browse or search for Communities and Local Government publications, click on the 'Communities and Local Government Publications' link on the right of this page.

Is information free of charge or on payment?

There may be a charge for information published under the Scheme, and where this is the case a £ is shown under the costs heading.

In addition we set out below our general charging policy which explains the circumstances in which charges may be made for information which is normally free (for example, if more than one print out from the website is requested or you want to receive a copy of information viewed at Communities and Local Government or agency library).

Information that appears on the Communities and Local Government?s website or those of its agencies or the GOs. There is no charge by us if you print off information that appears on the website. If you do not have Internet access, a single printout as on the website will be available from the information contact (see below) free of charge. However, requests for multiple printouts, or for archived copies of documents that are no longer available on the website, may attract a charge for the cost of retrieval, photocopy, postage etc. We will let you know at the time of your request the charge which will be required, in advance of supplying the information.
Current publicity leaflets or booklets issued by Communities and Local Government and its agencies will be available free of charge.
Information which appears in the Publication Scheme and is generated by the department may be viewed free of charge at Communities and Local Government?s library or agency libraries. If you wish to make photocopies of the information a charge may be levied. This will be payable in advance.
For some information available via a website, a charge would have to be paid before the main part of the information can be accessed. This may arise, for example, where the website is used to deliver a value-added customised service, particularly where the basic data is also available to private sector users who may provide their own value-added service. Where this applies the reason for the charge and the level of charges will be notified in advance/advertised.
The charges for priced publications in both paper and electronic format and videos are as set out in our publication list available either on Communities and Local Government website or from Communities and Local Government contact point (see below).

More details of the Government's policy on where charges are made and on determining the level of charges is available in Charges for Information: When and How Guidance for Government Departments and other Crown Bodies at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/open_government/opengov_charging.cfm.

What is included in the Scheme?

The Publication Scheme provides for a consistent approach across Communities and Local Government, including its agencies and the GOs, by setting out the classes of information that we will proactively release and readily make available to the public. Not all the information held by Communities and Local Government is, however, included in the Scheme. Information that the department considers is confidential is excluded. For example, information will not be released if, in the department's view, it is commercially sensitive, relates to security matters, comprises legal advice or advice to Ministers, or its disclosure would amount to an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

The Publication Scheme is not retrospective. We do not therefore undertake to publish information held by us which predates 30 November 2002. Any other restrictions or limitations on the release and retention of documents and information regarding the costs of documents are set out in the description of each class.

Copyright and licensing notices

Communities and Local Government is a Crown body and the information we produce is subject to Crown copyright, which is administered by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. The material listed in this Publication Scheme is Crown copyright unless stated otherwise.

Categories of material for which copyright has been waived include:

Government press notices
Legislation and explanatory notes on the legislation
Ministerial speeches
Consultation documents
Documents featured on official websites (except where expressly indicated otherwise)
Headline statistics and unpublished public records

More details of these and other categories can be found at: www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/index.htm.

For other types of material, the supply of documents under Freedom of Information does not give the person or organisation who receives them an automatic right to reuse the documents in a way that would infringe copyright, for example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public.

Brief extracts of any of the material included in this Publication Scheme may be reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.

Details of the arrangements for reusing Crown copyright material can be found on HMSO's website at: www.opsi.gov.uk/click-use/index.htm or by contacting HMSO at:
HMSO Licensing Division
St Clements House
2-16 Colegate
Norwich
NR3 1BQ
Tel: 01603 621000

Authorisation to reuse copyright material not owned by the Crown should be sought from the copyright holders concerned. If in doubt, users should contact HMSO in the first instance.

For further information

In Communities and Local Government, responsibility for the management of the Scheme rests with the Divisional Manager of our Information Management Division:
Information Management Division
Communities and Local Government
Ashdown House
Victoria Street
London SW1E 6DE
Tel: 020 7944 3146

Contact information for Communities and Local Government?s agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies and the Government Offices for the Regions is available via the related links on the right hand side of this page.

We would welcome your feedback on this Scheme, in particular on its coverage or if you have any complaints.