FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
Publication Scheme

Our full title and address for sending any documentation is:

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS)
103 Dee Road
Tilehurst
Reading
RG30 4FS

The Senior Officer responsible for maintenance of this scheme is the Corporate Communications Manager.

One of the aims of the Freedom of Information Act 2000(which is referred to as FOIA in the rest of this document) is that the public authorities should be clear and proactive about the information they will make public. To do this they must produce a publication scheme, setting out:

The classes of information which they publish or intent to publish;
The manner in which the information will be published; and
• Whether the information is available free of charge or on payment.

• The authority's publication scheme scheme consists of information already published and held by the authority or information which is to be published in the future. That means that all information in our publication scheme is either available for you on ourr website to download and print off or available in traditional document form. Information within the publication scheme will be available either free or at a charge - we explain which is free or which will be provided at a charge later in this scheme.

• Some information which we hold may not be made public, for example information about national security or court records.

The publication scheme guides you to information which we currently (or have recently published) or which we will publish in the future - this is split into 'classes' of information. The classes of information currently published are contained in section 4 of this scheme. Details of how the information is or will be published and any fees charged for information contained in the publication scheme are set out in the same section. The classes in the scheme are based on our departmental functions. Under each heading there is a list of the information which we publish which releateds to that function. For example, information under the heading of 'personnel' includes recruitment, training, discipline policies and so on.

The Authority is responsible for carrying out the deuties required by the Fire Services Act 1947. These include:

• Securing the services of a fire brigade for its area;
• Securing the efficient training of its fire fighters;
• Making sure arrangements are in place to receive calls and summon members of the fire brigade;
• Gathering information on the character of buildings and water supplies;
• Securing arranngements to alleviate damage to property in the course of fire fighting;
• Giving fire safety advice; and
• Enforcing laws providing for fire safety within its area.

The Authority sets the fire authority's annual budget and the cost of carrying out its duties are met partly by council tax in each council area and partly by government grany and business rates.

The Authority also carries out other functions, such as rescue services or attending non-fire incidents. These include:

• Rescuing trapped and/or injured people ehere no fire is involved e.g. at road accidents;
• Dealing with spillages and accidental release of substances endangering life or the environment e.g. Chemical or Toxic Substances inadvertently releases; and
• Responding to extreme weather conditions e.g. pumping water from flooded property (for information about this see under rescue services below).

As part of its duties laid down by the Fire Services Act 1947, the Authority provides fire advice on the community. This means educating the public about Fire Safety.

The Authority was established in 1997 folowing local government reorganisation. West Berkshire Council, Reading Borough Council, Wokingham Distric Council, Bracknell Forest Council, Royal Borough of Windsoe and Maidenhead and Slough Borough Council are the Councils responsible for the Authority but are independent from it. Representative members of each Council sit on the Authority which then overseas the Brigade's finances, strategies and operations.

* some information might be confidential or exempt from publication by law - we cannot therefore publish this.

Information available on our website.
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority maintains a website at rbfrs.co.uk and has an ongoing commitment to make as much information available on our website as possible.

The information you are looking for may also be available from the following organisations or on their websites. The websites listed below are an excellent source of information and if the documents are downloaded or printed off by the enquirer they provide a quick response at little cost. However, the Authority takes no responsibility nor warrants the accuracy of information contained on the following sites:

• Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) - www.fire-uk.org

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister(ODPM) - www.odpm.gov.uk/fire
• Fire Health & Safety Directorate
• Fire Research Division
• Fire Policy Division
• Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate

• UK Online Government - www.fire.org.uk

As well as being able to access information which is publicly available under the Publication Scheme we will answer queries under the existing Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. This allows you to write and ask us to supply you with specific information.

You can also apply for a copy of the personal data we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998 - that is information relating to an applicant that has arisen through their employment with the Authority or information obtained about an individual through the Authority’s statutory functions. There is a fee of £10 and you should contact the Authority’s Corporate Communications Manager on 0118 932 2283.

After January 2005 you will be able to ask the Authority for information which is not already published elsewhere nor exempt under the FOIA. Under the FOIA you will have the right to ask for information to be provided in a particular way and we will try to meet your request. You will be able to ask for assistance if you have any difficulty in formulating or making an application by contacting the Authority’s Information Officer. We will help you as much as possible but we are not required to look for the information you request unless we have:

• A clear and understandable request with enough detail to locate the information;
• Your name and address so we can respond to your request; and
• An indication about the form in which you want the information.

This will ensure that your application is dealt with as quickly as possible. You should give as much detail as you can in order to assist us in locating the information that you require Some documents may include exempt information so you will only get the information which is not exempt. You only have a right to information and not necessarily to documents. Some documents may include exempt information so you will only get the information from them which is not exempt.

Any fee charged will be calculated by looking at the costs directly and reasonably incurred locating the information you have asked for and giving it to you. You will then be sent a “fees notice” which you will have to pay within three months of your request - you will not receive information until you have paid the costs in the fees notice.

If the estimated cost of providing the information would be above the appropriate limit set by the government then we will not be under a duty to provide the information. However, the Authority will inform you if the limit will be exceeded and we will try to let you know what can be provided within the limit. Despite not being obliged to provide information which exceeds the limit the Authority will still be under a duty to advise and assist.

In order to protect the Authority there will be rules which govern multiple applications for information which are clearly trying to avoid the financial limits set by the government. However, we will try to help you as much as possible to get the information you want.

If you want to make any comments about this publication scheme or if you require further assistance or need to make a complaint then initially this should be addressed to the Authority’s Corporate Communications Manager at targettn@rbfrs.co.uk.

If you are not satisfied with the assistance that you get from the Authority or if we have not been able to resolve your complaint and you feel that a formal complaint needs to be made then this should be addressed to the office of the Information Commissioner. This is the organisation that ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and that deals with formal complaints. They can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

or

Enquiry/Information Telephone Line: 01625 545 745.
Email:data@dataprotection.gov.uk

This document can be made available in other languages or on audio cassette upon request.