Charging for Information

We aim to provide most information to the public at no cost and will only charge in cases where:

a fee must be imposed as a result of a statutory requirement
the information amounts to more than 100 pages, which will then be calculated at a cost of £0.10 per sheet. The Council will not charge for photocopying that amounts to less than £10.00

Anyone requesting information for which a charge is payable may not seek the information in smaller batches, for example 90 pages at a time, in order to avoid the cost. However, sometimes, we may have to make a charge and in this case we will contact you first for your approval.

Charges

Priced publications - where the information you require is available from the Council in a priced publication, we will supply details of the publication, its cost and where to buy.
Photocopying costs and postage (plus a small administrative charge) - where the information you require has already been prepared by us and we can photocopy or provide a computer printout, there will be photocopying and postage costs as well as an administrative charge. This includes copies of entries in public registers and copies of the Council's internal guidance documents.
The following charges are applicable:

A4	10p	per sheet
A3	20p	per sheet
A2	£2	per drawing
A1	£5	per drawing
A0	£5	per drawing

The Council can make reasonable charges for providing information under Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
There is no charge where a request for information is refused or where there is an appeal against a refusal. Nor will there be a charge to appeal against any charges made for requested information.
Where it is appropriate for the Council to charge for officer time the charge applied will be £25 per hour/per officer.
You do not pay VAT on requests made under the Freedom of Information Act. We can waive charges if appropriate.
Ards and North Down Borough Council owns the copyright to the information we produce. If information is to be re-used or reproduced, commercially or otherwise, written approval must be obtained from the Chief Executive.