Guide to Information

Charges

This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.
There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises or where it can be sent to you electronically by email.
We may charge for providing information to you e.g. photocopying and postage, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.

Reproduction costs

Black and white copy
10p per A4 sheet; 20p per A3 sheet
Colour copy
30p per A4 sheet; 60p per A3 sheet
Alternative formats
Computer discs
£1 per CD-Rom / DVD

Postage

Charged at the cost to the Board of sending the information by first class post
If providing copies of any pre-printed publications, we will charge no more than the cost per copy of the total print run.

We do not pass any other costs on to you in relation to our published information.
We do charge in relation to information not published under this scheme:
General information request:

• there will be no charge for information requests which cost us £600 or less to produce;
  
• we are not obliged to respond to requests for non-environmental information which will cost us over £600 to process;
  
• where environmental information costs over £600 to provide to you, we may ask you to pay the additional cost over that amount in full. For example, if you were to ask us for information that costs us £800 to provide, you may be asked to pay £250. This fee would be calculated on the basis of a waiver for the first £100 costs of providing the information, 10% of the next £500 costs, and full cost recovery for cost over £600 (in this example, £200);
  
• in calculating any fee, staff time will be calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour;
  
• we do not charge for the time to determine whether we hold the information requested, nor for the time it takes to decide whether the information can be released. Charges may be made for locating, retrieving and providing information to you; and
  
• in the event that we decide to impose a charge we will issue you with notification of the charge (a fees notice) and how it has been calculated. You will have three months from the date of issue of the fees notice in which to decide whether to pay the charge. The information will be provided to you on payment of the charge. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.