Freedom of information - HIE publication scheme
1. IntroductionHighlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is required to comply with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, which provides a general right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities, including that held by HIE, from 1 January 2005. The Act also places other obligations on HIE, including the production of a publication scheme which lists the classes of information that are either published or will be published. This scheme had to be be approved by the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner by 30 November 2004. This date is also the date from which information must be made available by HIE in accordance with the scheme. In drawing up this scheme, HIE has taken into account public interest in the information it holds and has continued to be mindful of the value of openness and transparency, in line with HIE's Accountability through Openness policy that has been in place since 1996. 2. About HIEThe Highlands and Islands of Scotland is a diverse area with many distinct communities. It has thousands of businesses, each with plans for the future. There are more than 400,000 individuals with skills and potential of their own and more than 8,000 voluntary and community groups. The task of the HIE Network is to unlock that potential and help create a strong, diverse and sustainable economy where quality of life is matched by quality of opportunity. HIE's activities include: provision of business support services, delivery of training and learning programmes, assistance for community and cultural projects and measures for environmental renewal. These activities are primarily delivered by our ten Local Enterprise Companies (LECs). The developing skills group in HIE includes Careers Scotland which is the career planning service for all the people of the Highlands and Islands. Information about Careers Scotland is contained in this scheme in various classes. 3. About the schemeUnder Section 23 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act), HIE must adopt and maintain a publication scheme setting out the information we routinely make publicly available. Our scheme has to be approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner, who is responsible for the enforcement of the Act. In addition, we have to review the scheme from time to time. In adopting (or reviewing) our publication scheme, we are required to have regard to the public interest in:
A publication scheme must:
The purpose of our publication scheme is to let you know what information is readily available from us. By readily available we mean that the information can be obtained from us on request. Steps have been taken throughout the preparation of the scheme to ensure that, above all, the scheme contains information that people are most likely to want to obtain, and that it has been placed in a structure that enables quick and easy location of relevant information. The scheme has been designed in a manner that is consistent with our new web site design, with the aim to ensure that HIE's information can be consistently located regardless of where you are looking. Consultations have been conducted throughout the year at www.hie.co.uk and common enquiries already made to the organisation have also been taken into account. This scheme and most information contained in this scheme are also accessible without reference to our internet site. For further information on how to access our information, please see section 8, accessing information under this scheme. The success of the publication scheme in listing information that will be published taking into account public interest, and enabling people to easily locate information will be continually evaluated. If you have any feedback regarding HIE's publication scheme or would like to make comments, see Section 11, feedback. Please note that each of the LECs has its own scheme, which is linked to where appropriate from the HIE publication scheme. 4. Responsibility for the publication schemeThe person responsible in HIE for the overall maintenance and day-to-day responsibility of the HIE publication scheme is: Liz Taylor - information compliance project manager Tel: 01463 244211 |
