The draft Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015

The draft Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 Consultation Document December 2014

THE DRAFT LOCAL GOVERNMENT (PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND STANDARDS) ORDER (NORTHERN IRELAND) 2015 This Consultation Document seeks views on the draft Order attached to the paper. Comments should be received by 2 March, 2015 at the address below: Local Government Policy Division 1 Department of the Environment 4th Floor, Causeway Exchange 1-7 Bedford Street Town Parks Belfast, BT2 7EG or by email to: johanne.mullan@doeni.gov.uk The following person will be able to answer queries in relation to the draft Order: Name E-mail Telephone Johanne Mullan Johanne.mullan@doeni.gov.uk 028 9051 2629 Crown Copyright 2014 This material may be freely reproduced except for sale or advertising purposes.

CONTENTS Page Purpose of the Consultation Document 1 Background 1 Details of the Proposals 3 Human Rights 5 Equality 6 Regulatory Impact Assessment 6 Rural Proofing 6 Freedom of Information Act 2000 confidentiality of consultations 6 Alternative format 7 Consultation Annex A The Draft Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 8 10 Annex B Guidance notes Annex C The Freedom of Information Act 2000 confidentiality of consultations 13 Annex D List of Consultees 15

THE DRAFT LOCAL GOVERNMENT (PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND STANDARDS) ORDER (NORTHERN IRELAND) 2015 PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTATION DOCUMENT 1. The Department of the Environment is seeking views from consultees on its proposals in relation to the setting of indicators and standards for the purposes of informing council performance improvement in the functions of planning economic development and waste management. BACKGROUND 2. On 31 March 2008, the then Minister of the Environment, Arlene Foster, announced the Executive s decisions on the future shape of local government. Along with rationalising the current 26 councils to create 11 new councils, these decisions included developing appropriate performance management systems for district councils. 3. Consequently, the Local Government Act (NI) 2014 provides the Department with the power to prescribe by order factors of performance (performance indicators and standards) and requiring that councils make arrangements to exercise functions so that any performance standards are met. The Act also provides that, before specifying performance indicators or standards, the Department must consult with councils and others as appropriate. 4. Part 12 of the Local Government Act (NI) 2014 (hereafter the Act ) places a general duty on a council to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the exercise of its functions and to set 1

improvement objectives for each financial year. 5. Councils will be required to gather information to assess improvements in their services and to issue a report annually on their performance against indicators which they have either set themselves or that have been set by Departments. The gathering of information with a view to assess and improve performance supports the outcomes-based approach that the Department proposes that councils should take in community planning. 6. Whilst councils can set their own improvement targets, it will be for central government to determine performance indicators for those functions that local government is carrying out under its legislation. Section 89 of the Act allows the Department of the Environment to specify performance indicators against which, in exercising its functions, a council s performance can be measured and performance standards met in relation to those performance indicators. Local councils performance improvement plans and the arrangements made to deliver on those plans will be audited by the Local Government Auditor. 7. The Department of the Environment has consulted with NI Departments to request their consideration of performance requirements which may flow from relevant Programme for Government targets or from other departmental objectives and the identification of indicators and standards that they wish to specify for councils. 8. In considering NI Departments requirements for inclusion in the performance framework, it has been recognised that it would be 2

undesirable to require that councils report on a large number of indicators and standards during their first year of operation. Equally, however, it will be useful and necessary to have in place arrangements to allow some measurement of councils performance and progress, in particular for new functions transferring to councils. 9. The collection and evaluation of this performance information will allow baseline positions to be established for new and existing council services which will support councils future planning and decisionmaking on delivery arrangements for those services. DETAILS OF THE PROPOSALS 10. The draft Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 (the Order), contains performance indicators and standards for economic development, planning and waste management. The Order will only apply for the 2015-16 financial year. 11. Limiting the application of the Order to the first year of the new councils operation means that the performance indicators and standards may be adjusted to take account of the potential for changes as a result of a new Programme for Government It also recognises that councils service delivery arrangements for the functions to be reported upon are likely to change and develop, particularly after the first year. 12. The indicator and standard for economic development is derived from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment s job creation target from the current Programme for Government. From 3

April 2015, councils will be responsible for the delivery of employment promotion activity under the Regional Start Initiative. Performance in this area is measured with reference to the completion of business plans for new business start-ups. 13. The performance measures for planning are based on three high level indicators and associated standards. The proposals focus on those key aspects of a well-performing planning authority development management and enforcement. These are the number of major and local planning applications processed and the progress of enforcement cases. The corresponding planning standards have been informed by the Department s current performance and are based on the planning performance statistics for the second quarter of 2014/15. 14. The proposals recognise that the new councils will be operating reformed planning processes from April 2015 and the proposed indicators will, therefore, allow for a settling in period and the gathering of benchmarking information. 15. The indicators and standards for waste management are intended to collect data on recycling and waste to landfill and to monitor council performance on the landfilling of waste. 16. The Northern Ireland Landfill Allowance Scheme (NILAS) Regulations 2004 came into operation in Northern Ireland on 1st April 2005 and translated the European Union Landfill Directive targets into annual allowances for each of the 26 district councils, in accordance with Article 4 of the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003, at a level 4

which would enable Northern Ireland to meet its overall target. 17. Those Regulations place a statutory obligation on district councils, in each scheme year, to landfill no more than the quantity of Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste for which they have allowances. The Department of the Environment is the Allocating Authority and establishes the landfill allowances for each district council. 18. The Department has reallocated the NILAS allowances to the new councils using the same approach used for the original allocations to the 26 councils in 2005. The eleven new district councils have already been informed of their landfill allowances up to 2019/20. Question 1. Do you agree with the proposed performance indicators and standards for councils from April 2015? Question 2. Do you think that the proposed performance indicators and standards will contribute to the improvement of council service provision for economic development, planning and waste management? Human Rights 19. The Department believes that the proposals are compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998. 5

Equality 20. Under the terms of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Department carried out screening for equality impact and is satisfied that the proposed legislation will not lead to discriminatory or negative differential impact on any of the section 75 groups. A copy of the screening form can be viewed on the Department s website: http://www.doeni.gov.uk/index/local_government/local_government_c onsultations.htm Regulatory Impact Assessment 21. The Department has not conducted a regulatory impact assessment as the proposed legislation does not give rise to any associated costs or savings on business, charities, social economy enterprises or the voluntary sector. Rural Proofing 22. The Department has assessed the proposed measures and considers that there would be no differential impact in rural areas or on rural communities. Freedom of Information Act 2000 confidentiality of consultations 23. The Department may publish a summary of responses following completion of the consultation process. Your response, and all other responses to the consultation, may be disclosed on request. The Department can only refuse to disclose information in exceptional circumstances. Before you submit your response, please read Annex B on the confidentiality of consultations. It gives guidance on the legal position about any information given by you in response to this consultation. 6

Alternative format 24. This document is available in alternative formats. Please contact us to discuss your requirements. Consultation 25. Comments should be received by 2 nd March 2015 at the address below or by e-mail to: johanne.mullan@doeni.gov.uk If you have any queries in relation to the proposals, you should contact: Johanne Mullan johanne.mullan@doeni.gov.uk Tel: 028 9051 2629 This consultation document is being circulated to persons and bodies listed in Annex C and is also available to view at: http://www.doeni.gov.uk/index/local_government/local_government_cons ultations.htm Local Government Policy Division Causeway Exchange Level 4 1-7 Bedford Street Town Parks Belfast, BT2 7EG 7

Annex A D R A F T S T A T U T O R Y R U L E S OF N O R T H E R N I R E L A N D 2015 No. LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 Made - - - - *** Coming into operation - *** The Department of the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 89(1) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014(1), makes the following Order. In accordance with section 89(2) of that Act, the Department has consulted councils and such associations or bodies representative of councils, such associations or bodies representative of officers of councils and such other persons or bodies as it considered appropriate. Citation, commencement and application 1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 and shall come into operation on 1 April 2015. (2) This Order shall apply to the financial year beginning on 1 April 2015 only. Performance indicators and standards 2. The performance indicators and standards set out in the Schedules for the councils listed therein are specified for the purpose of section 89(1) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 in relation to the functions identified in the respective Schedule. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on ***2015. (L.S.) * A senior officer of the Department of the Environment (1) 2014 c. 8 (N.I.) 1

Annex A SCHEDULES SCHEDULE 1 Article 2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Indicators Council Indicator reference number Indicator All councils ED 1 The number of jobs promoted through business start-up activity (a). (a) Business start-up activity means the delivery of completed client led business plans under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment s Regional Start Initiative or its successor programmes. 2

Annex A SCHEDULE 2 Article 2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Standards Council Standard reference number Standard EDS 1 To promote the following number of jobs through business start up activity (a). Antrim and Newtownabbey 80 Armagh,Banbridge and Craigavon 165 Belfast 325. Causeway Coast and Glens 125 Derry and Strabane 140 Fermanagh and Omagh 170 Lisburn and Castlereagh 85 Mid and East Antrim 85 Mid Ulster 210 Newry, Mourne and Down 155 North Down and Ards 85 (a) Business start-up activity means the delivery of completed client led business plans under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment s Regional Start Initiative or its successor programmes. 3

Annex A SCHEDULE 3 Article 2 PLANNING Indicators Council Indicator reference number Indicator All councils P 1 The number of major planning applications (a) processed. All councils P 2 The number of local planning applications (b) processed. All councils P 3 The progress of enforcement cases. (a) A major planning application means an application for major development as defined in the Planning Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 2. (b) A local application means an application for local development as defined in the Planning Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 3. 2 2015 No. *** 3 2015 No. *** 4

Annex A SCHEDULE 4 Article 2 PLANNING Standards Council Standard reference number Standard All councils PS 1 Major applications (a) processed from date valid (b) to decision or withdrawal within an average of 30 weeks. All councils PS 2 Local applications (c) processed from date valid to decision or withdrawal within an average of 15 weeks. All councils PS 3 70% of all enforcement cases progressed to target conclusion (d) within 39 weeks of receipt of complaint (a) A major planning application means an application for major development as defined in the Planning Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 4. (b) Date valid means the date on which the requisite application form(s) including fee, site location plan and detailed drawings and enclosures to adequately describe the proposal, are received by the planning authority (c) A local application means an application for local development as defined in the Planning Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 5. (d) target conclusion means the achievement of the one of the following outcomes of an investigation: (i) Case closure; (ii) Submission of a retrospective planning application; (iii) Enforcement action as defined in Section 131 (2) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 which will be measured as the date issued on the enforcement notice or breach of condition notice; (iv) Summons to court which will be measured as the date on which the planning authority instructs its solicitor to progress summons action to court. 4 2015 No. *** 5 2015 No. *** 5

Annex A SCHEDULE 5 Article 2 WASTE MANAGEMENT Indicators Council Indicator reference number Indicator All councils W 1 The percentage of household waste (a) collected by district councils that is sent for recycling (including waste prepared for reuse). All councils W 2 The amount (tonnage) of biodegradable Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste (b) that is landfilled. All councils W 3 The amount (tonnage) of Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste arisings (c). (a) Household waste is as defined in article 2 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 6 and the Controlled Waste and Duty of Care Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 7. (b) Local authority collected municipal waste is as defined in section 21 of the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 8, as amended by the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 (Amendment) Regulations 2011 9 (c) Local authority collected municipal waste arisings is the total amount of Local authority collected municipal waste which has been collected by a District Council. 6 1997 No. 2778 (N.I. 19) 7 2013 No. 255 8 2003 c.33 9 S.I. 2011 No. 2499 6

Annex A SCHEDULE 6 Article 2 WASTE MANAGEMENT Standard Council Standard reference number Standard WS 1 To landfill no more than the following tonnages of biodegradeable Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste. Antrim and Newtownabbey 21,148 Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon 30,759 Belfast 50,753 Causeway Coast and Glens 21,494 Derry and Strabane 22,586 Fermanagh and Omagh 17,360 Lisburn and Castlereagh 20,716 Mid and East Antrim 20,644 Mid Ulster 21,330 Newry, Mourne and Down 26,396 North Down and Ards 23,956 7

Annex A EXPLANATORY NOTE (This note is not part of the Regulations) This Order specifies performance indicators and standards by reference to which a council s performance in exercising a related function can be measured or met. Article 2 indentifies, by reference to the Schedules to the Order, which performance indicators and performance standards will be used to measure the performance of which functions. Schedules 1 to 6 detail the specified performance indicators for, and where applicable the standards to be met by councils in relation to, the following functions Schedules 1 and 2 Economic Development; Schedules 3 and 4 Planning; and Schedules 5 and 6 Waste Management. 8

Annex B The Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 Guidance Notes Introduction These statutory performance indicators and standards have been set by the Department of the Environment as part of the performance improvement arrangements for district councils. Performance measures have been specified for the functions economic development, planning and waste management. The aim of the performance measures is to promote the improvement of service delivery for the functions specified. The Performance Indicators and Standards specified in the Order will apply during the 2015-16 financial year only. A new Performance Order will be made for subsequent years following further consultation. Economic Development Performance Indicators and Standards 1. These statutory performance indicator and standards have been set by the Department of the Enterprise Trade and Investment as part of the governance and performance management arrangements for the planning functions transferring to local government. It is critical to ensure that these planning functions are carried out and are seen to be carried out in a clear, fair and consistent manner and that best practice is applied across the new district councils. 2. In order to ensure consistency and reliability of performance data, reporting on these performance indicators and standards will be carried out centrally by Invest NI and reported to the Department until the 22 October 2015 after which further arrangements will be made for Councils to report directly to the Department. 3. This will allow for accurate comparison between councils across performance indicators and standards and will provide the Minister and the public with 1

Annex B assurance over the performance. Central reporting will also ensure that the Department continues to meet its statutory obligations under the Code of Practice for Official Statistics when reporting performance at the Regional level. DATA COLLECTION ARRANGEMENTS REGIONAL START INITIATIVE - 1 April 2015 22 October 2015 4. Enterprise Northern Ireland (ENI) will submit monthly data lists to Invest NI within 5 working days of the end of each month, in relation to the following: The number of business plans completed for each of the 5 contract regions The enquiry levels to the Regional Start Initiative The conversion statistics for each delivery agent (Local Enterprise Centres) for transition between the contact points on the programme; Reporting and Monitoring 5. Invest NI will take 10 working days to audit a random sample of 20% of the business plans received across each delivery agent. This process is carried out directly by Invest NI staff. ENI has it s own internal audit procedure which is undertaken on a 10% basis by an independent consultant. Invest NI/ENI/the Consultant will meet on a quarterly basis to verify audit findings. 6. Findings of the monthly Invest NI audit will ne communicated to ENI along with detailed commentary on the business plans reviewed and performance of individual LEAs. 7. Performance of individual LEAs will be tracked and documented on a monthly basis forming the basis of a monthly meeting between Invest NI and ENI where programme performance in each contract area will be discussed. Improvement actions will be documented. 8. Invoicing and payment will be undertaken on a monthly basis and will take place after the Invest NI audit has determined the validity of the ENI monthly 2

Annex B submission. Validation of Data 9. Invest NI will conduct quality validation on 20% of the plans prepared by ENI on the Regional Start Initiative. 10. The plans will be selected at random from the Final Fee file sent from ENI and each LEA will be subject to the 20% validation. 11. The key areas of validation will be in keeping with the Terms of Reference, advisor training and Business navigator tools. The validation process will: a) Ensure that the plan includes a robust set of financial projections consistent with the project described in the plan; b) Ensure that analysis of the plans (specifically financial information) identify any significant issues and specific commentary should be made where issues exist; c) Ensure the plan is evidenced based with a minimum of 10% of the first years sales justified in the market section. This should be supported with customer names and contract values. 12. In addition the validation process will be used to identify best practice. 13. A summary of the validation will be prepared by Invest NI each month and be made available to the Department and Councils. 3

Annex B Planning Performance Indicators and Standards 14. Statutory performance indicators and standards have been set by the Department of the Environment for the planning functions transferring to local government. It is critical to ensure that these planning functions are carried out and are seen to be carried out in a clear, fair and consistent manner and that best practice is applied across the new district councils. 15. Performance reports will be produced on a quarterly and annual basis and will allow for accurate comparison between councils across these performance indicators and standards. This will also provide the Minister and the public with assurance over the performance of the planning system. Data Collection Arrangements 16. The data will be extracted from the NI Planning Portal for the purposes of producing provisional quarterly and finalised annual NI Official Statistics Publications related to Development Management. Timing of Data Collection 17. Performance will be monitored internally on a monthly basis with data collected on the 3rd week following the end of the month in question. Validation of Data 18. Data will be validated by looking for coding anomalies and inconsistencies in classification or processing times across councils and by comparison with equivalent historic data. Performance Indicator and Standard Definitions 19. For the purpose of this guidance the following definitions apply:- 19.1. A major planning application means an application for major development as defined in the Planning Development Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. 19.2. A local planning application means an application for local development as defined in the Planning (Development Management) 4

Annex B Regulations (NI) 2015. 19.3. Enforcement case describes an investigation into an alleged breach of planning control. Breaches of planning control are defined in Section 131(1) of the Planning Act (NI) 2011 as (a) carrying out development without the planning permission required; or (b) failing to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted. 19.4. Application Date valid a planning application will be considered valid when it includes the following: (i) The correct application form(s); (ii) The correct application fee; (iii) A site location plan; (iv) Detailed drawings and enclosures to adequately describe the proposal. 19.5. Decision this means the date a decision on an application is agreed by a planning decision-making group or a council planning committee. 19.6. Withdrawal the date on which a planning application is withdrawn by the applicant. 19.7. Average - the average processing time for planning standards is the median. The median is determined by sorting data from its lowest to highest values and then taking the data point in the middle of the sequence. The median is used because some planning applications can take several years to reach a decision. As a consequence, these extreme cases (outliers) inflate the arithmetic mean and the result is that it may not be considered as typical. Therefore the median may be taken to better represent the average or typical processing time. 19.8. Weeks - this will be taken to mean working weeks (public holidays are excluded). 5

Annex B 19.9. Certificates of Lawful Use or Development (CLUDs) are excluded from the calculation of processing time, as such certificates are not deemed to be planning applications. 19.10. Target conclusion - for the purposes of planning enforcement this means the achievement of the one of the following outcomes following an investigation: (i) Case closure; (ii) Submission of a retrospective planning application; (iii) Enforcement action as defined in Section 131 (2) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 which will be measured as the date issued on the enforcement notice or breach of condition notice; (iv) Summons to court which will be measured as the date on which the planning authority instructs its solicitor to progress summons action to court. 19.11. Receipt of complaint this is the date on which a complaint of an alleged planning control breach is received by a planning authority. Publication of planning performance 20. Performance will be published by council area on a quarterly and annual basis. 6

Annex B Waste Management Performance Indicators and Standards 21. Statutory performance indicators and standards have been set by the Department of the Environment for the waste management functions. In order to ensure consistency and reliability of performance data, reporting on these performance indicators and standards will be carried out centrally by the Department of the Environment. This will allow for accurate comparison between councils across performance indicators and standards and will provide the Minister and the public with assurance over the performance of the local authority collected waste management system. Central reporting will also ensure that the Department continues to meet its statutory obligations under the Code of Practice for Official Statistics when reporting performance at the Regional level. Data Collection Arrangements 22. The Department of the Environment (Analytical Services Branch) will extract the data from WasteDataFlow portal for the purposes of producing provisional quarterly and finalised annual NI National Statistics Publications related to Waste Management. Timing of Data Collection 23. Performance data will be published on a quarterly basis with data collected by the end of the 3rd month following the end of the quarter in question. This is in effect a time lag of one quarter and is necessary due to the length of time (2 months) allowed in existing legislation for councils to input data into WasteDataFlow and the degree of validation carried on this data by Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Analytical Services Branch (outlined in 4 below). Validation of Data 24. Data will be validated by looking for coding anomalies and inconsistencies in tonnages and classifications across councils and by comparison with equivalent historic data and takes approximately 1 month. 7

Annex B Performance Indicator and Standard Definitions 25. For the purpose of this guidance the following definitions apply:- 26. Local authority collected municipal waste is defined in the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003, as amended, as: Waste from households and other waste that, because of its nature or composition, is similar to waste from households (all of) which has been collected by District Councils. 27. Local authority collected municipal waste arisings is the total amount of local authority collected municipal waste which has been collected (in this case) by the District Council. 28. Household Waste is defined in the Waste and Contaminated Land (NI) Order 1997. This definition is further refined in the Controlled Waste and Duty of Care Regulations (NI) 2013. WasteDataFlow arrangements 29. Local authorities (District Councils) in Northern Ireland report data on local authority collected municipal waste arisings on a quarterly basis as per Regulation 10 (5) of the Landfill Allowances Scheme (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004. The data for each quarter must be submitted to the Monitoring Authority (NIEA) within 2 months after the relevant quarter ends. 30. Local Authorities (District Councils) submit their data via a web based system called WasteDataFlow (WDF). District Councils began formally reporting local authority collected municipal waste data via WDF from May 2005 for data arising post January 2005. 31. The percentage of household waste collected by district councils that is sent for recycling (including waste prepared for re-use) as noted on page 39 of the NI Waste Management Strategy Delivering Resource Efficiency dated October 2013. This metric is also available via WasteDataFlow as a council specific report. http://www.doeni.gov.uk/wms_2013.pdf#page=39 8

Annex B 32. The amount (tonnage) of biodegradable Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste that is landfilled as defined on the Landfill Allowance Scheme (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004 (as amended) which is noted on page 50 of the NI Waste Management Strategy Delivering Resource Efficiency dated October 2013. This metric is also available via WasteDataFlow as a council specific report. http://www.doeni.gov.uk/wms_2013.pdf#page=50 33. The amount (tonnage) of Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste arisings as noted on page 23 of the NI Waste Management Strategy Delivering Resource Efficiency dated October 2013. This metric is also available via WasteDataFlow as a council specific report. http://www.doeni.gov.uk/wms_2013.pdf#page=23 34. The standard to landfill no more than the tonnages of biodegradable Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste for each council by 2020 as noted in a letter sent by Environmental Policy on 10 July 2014 to the relevant chief executives. http://www.doeni.gov.uk/nilas_allowances_2015-16_to_2019-20_for_new_11_councils 2_.pdf Publication of waste management performance 35. The Department of the Environment will publish performance by council area on a quarterly and annual basis through the NI Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste Management Statistics report. http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/waste-home/municipal_data_reporting.htm 36. The performance data will be issued to each council upon publication for use by the council as part of the requirements under Part 12 of the Local Government Act (NI) 2014. 9

Annex C The Freedom of Information Act 2000 confidentiality of consultations 1. The Department may publish a summary of responses following completion of the consultation process. Your response, and all other responses to the consultation, may be disclosed on request. The Department can only refuse to disclose information in exceptional circumstances. Before you submit your response, please read the paragraphs below on the confidentiality of consultations and they will give you guidance on the legal position about any information given by you in response to this consultation. 2. The Freedom of Information Act gives the public a right of access to any information held by a public authority, namely, the Department in this case. This right of access to information includes information provided in response to a consultation. The Department cannot automatically consider as confidential information supplied to it in response to a consultation. However, it does have the responsibility to decide whether any information provided by you in response to this consultation, including information about your identity, should be made public or be treated as confidential. 3. This means that information provided by you in response to the consultation is unlikely to be treated as confidential, except in very particular circumstances. The Lord Chancellor s Code of Practice on the Freedom of Information Act provides that: the Department should only accept information from third parties in confidence if it is necessary to obtain that information 1

in connection with the exercise of any of the Department s functions and it would not otherwise be provided; Annex C the Department should not agree to hold information received from third parties in confidence which is not confidential in nature; and acceptance by the Department of confidentiality provisions must be for good reasons, capable of being justified to the Information Commissioner. 4. For further information about confidentiality of responses please contact the Information Commissioner s Office (or see website at: http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk ) 2

Annex D List of Consultees All Northern Ireland Departments All Northern Ireland District Councils (26 plus 11 new) Association of Local Government Finance Officers Association of Public Service Excellence Chief Local Government Auditor GMB Invest NI Irish Congress of Trade Unions NI Committee (ICTUNI) Local Government Reform Joint Forum Local Government Staff Commission Local Government Management Services Board National Association of Councillors NI Local Government Association Northern Ireland Assembly/Committee for the Environment Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions NIPSA Public Service Commission Society of Local Authority Chief Executives UNISON Northern Ireland Unite 1