Charging Policy

All information contained within the Authority’s publication scheme is available from us free of charge where it can be downloaded from our website or where it can be sent to you electronically by email.

The Authority reserve the right to impose charges for providing information in paper copy or on computer disc. Charges will reflect the actual cost of reproduction and postage to the authority, as set out below.

If charges have to be levied, you will be advised of the charge and how it has been calculated. 

Reproduction costs:

Computer discs will be charged at the rate of £1.00 per CD-Rom

Postage costs:

Postage charges will be recharged to the requester at the rate the Authority paid to send the information to you. Our charge is for sending information by Royal Mail First Class.

When providing copies of pre-printed publications, the Authority will charge no more than what it cost, per copy, to have the publication printed. Please note that this charging schedule does not apply to our commercial publications where relevant (see Class 8).

Charges for information available only by request

This part of the Authority charging policy applies to information which we do not routinely publish, but which anyone can request from us. It applies to all requests, whether for environmental or non-environmental information. The Authority adhere to the Scottish Information Commissioner’s EIRs Guidance Series

What the Authority may charge for

The Authority does not charge for the time taken to determine whether we hold the requested information, nor for the time it takes us to decide whether the information can be released. Charges may, however, be made for the staff time taken to locate and retrieve the information and for providing it to you.

Calculating charges

Charges are calculated based on the actual cost to the Authority of providing the information. Staff time is charged at the average hourly rate of pay for the grade(s) of the staff responding to the request, up to a maximum of £15 per hour per member of staff.

The Authority does not charge for information which costs less than £100 to provide to you.

Where information costs between £100 and £600 to provide to you, the Authority may ask you to pay 10% of the cost of providing it. For example, if you were to ask the Authority for information that costs us £600 to provide, you could be asked to pay no more than £50. This fee is calculated based on a waiver for the first £100 costs of providing the information and 10% of the remaining £500.

Where information costs over £600 to provide to you, the Authority may ask you to pay the additional cost over that amount in full. For example, if you were to ask us for information that costs us £800 to provide, you may be asked to pay £250. This fee would be calculated based on a waiver for the first £100 costs of providing the information, 10% of the next £500 costs, and full cost recovery for cost over £600 (in this example, £200).

Please note that the Authority may refuse to deal with requests for non-environmental information which would cost more than £600 to provide.

Requests for your own personal data

Requests for your own personal data will be dealt with under the Data Protection Act. There is no fee for disclosures under this legislation.

Fees notice

If the Authority intend to make a charge, we will contact you before we send any information. We will issue you a Fees Notice which sets out the charge and how it has been calculated. The notice will tell you how to pay the fee to the Authority. It will also offer advice and assistance to help you narrow your request to reduce or avoid charges altogether. If you receive a Fees Notice you can decide whether to pay for the information or to take up our offer of advice and assistance. If the Authority does not hear from you within 20 working days of issue of a fees notice, we will assume that you have withdrawn your request.