North Kent Programme Publication Strategy

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation gives the public an automatic right to request information from a public authority (PA). For the purposes of North Kent Programme, the relevant public authority will be Kent Police. It is important to note that any information held by a public authority (PA) for a business purpose, regardless of its origins or author, will be subject to the legislation. It is mandated that the information holder, receiving the request, will be solely responsible for decisions regarding disclosure.

North Kent Programme – the workstream focusing on the future of North Kent Police Station – is accompanied by a number of sensitivities. Early release of information that compromises commercial sensitivities and confidentiality may prejudice any outcome for Kent Police. Employee relations matters (e.g. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment (TUPE) may also be negatively impacted.

Kent Police recognises the duty to be open and transparent in its financial dealings. However, this responsibility must be weighed against commercial sensitivities and the necessity to safeguard Kent Police’s ability to engage with other organisations as a trusted partner in any future negotiations. Information that interests the public is not the same as information released in the public interest. This strategy seeks to balance transparency and public interest with commercial responsibilities, stewardship of the ‘public purse’ and the general fiduciary duty on all public authorities.

This Freedom of Information (FOI) publication strategy has been formulated in order to allow the relevant public authorities to exercise their right, when appropriate, to put in place exemptions within FOI legislation found at Section 22(1). Section 22(1) may not be used, and authorities may not take the decision to publish the information, after the request for information is received. The key to it is that the decision to publish must have been made prior to any request for the information being received. The publication schedule will therefore inform decision making, where appropriate, to apply the exemption relating to information intended for future publication (section 22(1) FOIA).