Publication Scheme
Exemptions of the FOI Act
Public Authorities are legally obliged to withhold information that is considered inappropriate or harmful upon disclosure. A list of absolute and non–absolute exemptions applies to all the information held by the Council.
If the information you require is exempt or unavailable South Tyneside will advise you accordingly of the exemption applied to the request.
The list of exemptions that apply to the Publication Scheme are as follows:
| Section | Information Exemption | Absolute | X |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. 21 | Information accessible by other means (e.g. via the Publication Scheme) | Yes | |
| S. 22 | Intended for future publication | No | |
| S. 23 | Information supplied by, or relating to, bodies dealing with security matters (a certificate signed by a Minister of the Crown is conclusive proof that the exemption is justified). | ||
| S. 24 | National security | ||
| S. 26 | Defence | ||
| S. 27 | International relations | ||
| S. 28 | Relations within the UK | ||
| S. 29 | Likely to prejudice economic interests | No | |
| S. 30 | Investigations/proceedings conducted by Local Authorities | No | |
| S. 31 | Likely to prejudice law enforcement (This covers the detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders) | No | |
| S. 32 | Court records etc. | Yes | |
| S. 33 | Audit functions (Where the authority audits the accounts of other public authorities) | ||
| S. 34 | Parliamentary Priveleges | ||
| S. 35 | Formulation of Government policy | ||
| S. 36 | Likely to prejudice effective conduct of public affairs – inhibit free/frank provision of advice or exchange of views (e.g. draft reports, advice and briefing to Councillors and senior Officers, information in support of negotiations in industrial disputes) | No | |
| S. 37 | Communications with Her Majesty etc and honours | ||
| S.38 | Likely to endanger anyone’s health/safety | No | |
| S. 39 | Environmental information (details of the exemption is to be provided in the in Regulations which have yet to be drafted by Government) | ||
| S. 40 | Personal data on the data subject ( The Data Protection Act will apply in this case) | Yes | |
| S. 41 | Actionable breach of confidence (The disclosure of information given in confidence) | Yes | |
| S. 42 | Legal professional privilege (Information which can be used in a legal claim) | No | |
| S. 43 | Trade secret, commercial interests | No | |
| S. 44 | Prohibited by law (Information which is prohibited by other legislation, e.g. by a court order or where disclosure is incompatible with any European obligation) | Yes | |
| Other exempted information | |||
| Requests which exceed the appropriate time limit and standard costs | |||
| Vexatious or repeated requests (A repeated request from the same person within a short period of time) |