There are a number of ways to gain access to information about Essex County Council and to find out what information the council holds about you. There are separate pieces of legislation that govern how we supply different types of information. These are:
Obtaining information from Essex County Council
There are different procedures in place to access information held under these acts, and Essex County council works hard to meet our obligations.
Occasionally, we are unable to supply information requested under the acts. In many cases, this is because the information itself is exempt from publication. This can be for a variety of reasons. Where information is exempt, we will tell you why we are unable to supply it. We do not have to comply with information requests that are considered vexatious. For further information about what information is exempt from publication, and what is considered a vexatious request, see the
Information Commissioner's Office website.
A great deal of information about the work of the council is published as part of our
Publication scheme. The scheme contains a wealth of information about:
- who we are and what we do
- what we spend and how we spend it
- how we make decisions
- our policies and procedures
- lists and registers
- services provided by the council
Retention of information
Essex County Council retains different types of information for different lengths of time. The different types of information, and the length of time we retain them for, is set out in the
Record Retention Schedule.
Access to additional information
The following information is also available:
Additionally, the
Essex Views Community network also brings together a range of information about the work of Essex County Council, including the leader’s blog, news stories and webcasts of Essex County Council committees.
Making a complaint