Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is designed to promote greater openness and transparency throughout the public sector. Under the Act any person, has rights of access to recorded information held by the Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd. These rights are:

to be told, normally within 20 working days, whether Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd holds recorded information of the type requested

if such information is held to have it disclosed unless it is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act

to receive reasonable advice and assistance in making the request

These rights are subject only to the limitations and exemptions (many of which only apply if it is not in the public interest for the information to be disclosed) imposed by the act and other legislation. Where information is disclosed this will typically be by providing copies of the records held, but requesters should be aware that the right is to receive the information - not to copies of particular documents which may contain the information. Information disclosed may be subject to copyright or other restrictions on re-use.

In line with these rights Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd is committed to the principles of 'open government' in the way we do business, in delivering our services and in how we make decisions.

" Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd will consider that it is in the public interest to disclose information unless it can be clearly shown that it is in the public interest not to do so (e.g. because such disclosure would cause substantial harm or breach confidentiality). In particular the Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd will not regard the following factors as reasons to withhold disclosure:

That disclosure may reveal incompetence on the part of, or corruption within, or would cause embarrassment to Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd.

That information is too complicated for the applicant to understand, or that disclosure might misinform the public because it is incomplete."

In addition to answering individual requests for information the Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd has adopted, as required by the Freedom of Information Act, a publication scheme which sets out the kinds of information which it will make routinely make available. Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd has adopted the Information Commissioner's model scheme without modification. There is a separate but similar regime for access to information relating to the environment, under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Further information on your rights and the operation of the Freedom of Information Act, including the exemptions which may apply and the public interest test, may be obtained from the Information Commissioner's website or the Campaign for Freedom of Information.

To request information from Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd, send your request, giving as much detail as possible, using the contact details below. Information covered by the Act

The rights include information that has been sent to us from other organisations - just because we don't own the information it doesn't mean we don't have to disclose it.

Any important documents that we hold will have a 'retention period' attached to them which means that they have to be kept for a certain amount of time before we dispose of them. If a document has already been disposed of according to our retention rules then we cannot be expected to provide the information. Access Problems

It can be arranged for any information to be made available in large type and other formats upon request. Under the Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd's Welsh language policy information held only in English will not normally be translated when released in response to a request under the Act. Requests for translation of information disclosed into Welsh (or other languages) will be considered on an individual basis in accordance with the Cardiff Business Technology Centre Ltd's policies on language and non-discrimination.

Providing the cost of compiling the information you request does not exceed £450, representing 18 hours of work involved in identifying and collating the information, the information will be provided to you free of charge (other than photocopying or similar if a large amount of information is involved) .

If the cost of compiling a response to your request will be likely to exceed the £450 limit set by Central Government, we will contact you to discuss options.

Information Requests:

Mr Rob Jackson

Innovation Manager
CBTC Ltd

Senghennydd Road,

Cardiff CF24 4AY

Telephone: 029 20647 000

Fax: 029 20647 009