Freedom of information (FOI): published information

Our pdf publication scheme(671 KB)  explains the type of information we publish.

Published freedom of information compliance statistics:

The latest figures will be published one to two months after the end of the quarter to which the figures relate.

Make a Freedom of Information request if you can't find what you're looking for on this page.

FOI Action Plan

We initially produced an pdf action plan in February 2024(439 KB) . We have now created an pdf updated action plan(501 KB) , published in response to the ICO's Enforcement Notice, dated 14 March 2024. This updated action plan describes how the council plans to improve performance in respect of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) requests by the end of 2025.

ICO Enforcement Notice

We've addressed what was raised in the ICO's Enforcement Notice and are in the process of applying how, in a sustainable way, we improve our responsiveness to FOI and EIR requests. This plan outlines how we intend to meet our obligations by focusing on the following areas:

  • reiterating an attitude within the council that FOI and EIR compliance is the responsibility of all staff
  • ensuring promotion of FOI and EIR compliance is communicated from senior management throughout the organisation
  • ensuring adequate staffing levels are in place to meet the demand of requests received
  • spreading awareness within the organisation of where to seek expert advice in order to respond to requests
  • improve request triage to ensure requests are allocated to the correct teams as soon as possible to reduce delays. Ensure team structures are correct on the council's case management system
  • use relevant, meaningful data to report compliance to senior management, so that immediate action can be taken to address poor performance
  • review training materials so that all staff are adequately trained on how to comply with requests for information
  • use data to understand what is commonly requested and monitor what issues are likely to be of high public interest that proactive publication can be used as often as possible

Council 

How the council works
Council meetings, information about our committees

Our constitution
How the council operates and the procedures which are followed.

Council tax

Read frequently requested information for:

Council tax accounts in credit

We do not publish lists of council tax accounts in credit.

This is in line with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) Desicion Notices FS50619844, FS50611353 and FS50643256. You can find these on the ICO website.

Employment, equalities and HR

Employment data, equalities and HR policies
Information about equalities charts, vacant posts, leavers, sickness and temporary employees. Also includes HR policies that we use; worklife balance, expenses and pay policy.

Budget and finances

Council budget
Our revenue and capital budgets, and our medium term spending plans.

Fraud prevention and detection: data matching
How the Audit Commission audits our accounts.

Items or services purchased by the council that cost over £500
Reports go back to 2010 and are done on a monthly basis.

Business rates

Business rates - frequently requested information
Empty properties and credit on accounts.

Pay and allowances

Councillors' allowances and payments
The basic allowance for a councillor is £11,530. Allowances are for time given and expenses.

Senior officers' pay
Pay policy and pay grades for the City Director and senior officers posts.

Policies and reports

What we do with your personal data
Privacy statement.

Performance reports

Decision making

How decisions are made
The role of the council and other committees.

Forward plans
Decisions that are likely to be determined during the next four months.

Births, marriages and deaths

Registers of birth, death, marriage and civil partnership
Order a certificate online, in person or by post.

pdf Public Health funerals - frequently requested information(101 KB)

Housing

Empty properties owned by organisations
We cannot give you details of empty properties owned by individuals.

Licences

Licences we issue
Includes alcohol and entertainment licences, gambling permits, HMO licensing and taxi licensing.

Open data

Bristol City Council open data
Includes all our open data on data.gov.uk and annual release datasets.

International travel costs

This information is available on the Bristol City Council open data page.

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