Under Schedule 1 of the FOI Act 2000, the Ministry of Defence is defined as a public authority. As an MOD Trading Fund the UKHO is subject to the requirement of the act.

This statement sets out the UK Hydrographic Office’s position in respect of its conformance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI), and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR).

Access to Information
UKHO publications and services are summarized on the Ministry of Defence’s FOI Publication Scheme www.foi.mod.uk, and are fully described on the UKHO website www.ukho.gov.uk which includes an on-line catalogue. The UKHO FOI Policy can also be accessed online.

Categorisation of Requests
Due to the substantial number of requests for information of a general nature, or for information which UKHO already publishes, or for services which the UKHO already provides and which are advertised on its website, the UKHO will treat such requests as business-as-usual, and will not record them as requests under FOI or EIR.

The following categories will be treated as business-as-usual:

Handling of FOI Requests
The UKHO will handle requests for information according to following procedures:

• Where additional time is legitimately required for the provision of information, the applicant will be informed of the reason for, and the expected length of, the delay.
• Where necessary, the UKHO will request further information from an applicant to clearly identify the information being requested, or to establish the context of the RFI where this would assist the identification of the information.
• Where a series of RFIs are received relating to the same topic, the UKHO will consider placing a response on its website, rather than providing multiple responses, or making the information available by publishing it.
• RFIs from unidentifiable sources will be considered to fail to comply with section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act, and will not be processed.
• Information will only be released with appropriate authority. Similarly, a refusal to disclose information will only be authorized at an appropriately senior level.
• Reasons for a refusal to disclose information will be given in writing, along with details of the UKHO’s complaints procedures for those who do not agree with the refusal to publish or release.
• The UKHO will respond to request for information within 20 working days.

A substantial proportion of the data which the UKHO holds is made available at an appropriate market-based charge or, in many cases, without charge. Conditions and charges are listed in the online catalogue, or elsewhere on the UKHO website.

Exempted/Excepted Information
Under the FOI Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, and the Data Protection Act 1998, there are certain exceptional circumstances in which requests for information may be refused. The UKHO will only refuse to disclose information where it has given careful consideration to the request, and has come to a decision that the information requested is clearly categorised under one or more of the exceptional circumstances as defined in the appropriate piece of legislation, and (where appropriate) the UKHO considers that the public interest would not be best served by waiving the exemption or exception.