Publication Scheme
PART 1: Introduction
Publication Scheme - Context and background
The aim of the Treasury is to raise the rate of sustainable growth, and achieve rising prosperity, through creating economic and employment opportunities for all. The key aspects of this work have been:
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Introducing a macro economic policy framework that is highly transparent, forward looking and underpinned by legislation· Playing a leading pro-active role in the international financial arena
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Maintaining a focus on improving the performance of the economy through active microeconomic policy
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Increasing employment opportunity for all through policies that prevent unemployed people becoming detached from the labour market and ensure job creation is spread across the country.
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Developing a more strategic role in public expenditure control
This publication scheme sets out the information that the Treasury provides pro-actively to inform the public about its work. It builds on the commitment to greater openness and transparency that has been at the heart of recent policy reforms including:
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The Code for Fiscal Stability
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The monetary policy framework
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The Pre-Budget consultation
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An independent and accountable Financial Services Authority
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Making international institutions more transparent and accountable, and being transparent about UK priorities for international economic and financial policy reform, as well as our work with international institutions
The publication scheme has been designed to fit closely with the Treasury's award winning website.
To find out more about the work of the Treasury see our objectives and Ministerial profiles.
As well as being the senior Minister for the Treasury the Chancellor has responsibilities in relation to a number of other departments and public bodies.
Please select the URL's below to see information published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) etc:
Information on Treasury bodies and agencies will be published each year in the Departmental Report available from OPSI .
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Getting in touch with the Treasury
The Treasury aims to be an organization with professional management, professional people and professional tools. Excellent two-way communication with business, the voluntary sector, the public sector and the wider public is an essential element of the way the Treasury does business. There are a number of ways in which you can get in touch with the Correspondence and Enquiry Unit (CEU) at the Treasury:
- By writing to the Treasury at the Correspondence and Enquiry Unit, HM Treasury, Floor 2/W1, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ. The CEU handles nearly 50,000 letters annually - about 12,000 from Members of Parliament and the rest from organizations and members of the public. All correspondence has a response target of 15 working days from the date of receipt. In 2001, the Treasury responded to 78 per cent of letters within the target.
- General enquiries to the Treasury can be made through the CEU by telephone 0207 270 4870 0r 0207 270 4860
- Contact the Treasury by email. The CEU aims to answer e-mails within 3 working days.
How to apply for information under the Freedom of Information Act
The Treasury publishes a lot of information on the decisions it makes and the background to those decisions. It is possible that the information you seek may already be published and we suggest that, before making a request, you should check whether we already publish the information you want. You can do this by looking at the Classes of Information in our Publication Scheme or by using the Search facility on this Site, which is at the top of the screen.
If you cannot find what you want please email or write to:
Correspondence & Enquiry Unit
Freedom of Information Section
2/W1
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ
Tel 020 7270 4558 from outside the UK this number is +44 (0)20 7270 4558
Fax 020 7270 4861
Making a request
In making a request you must:
- State your name
- Give an address for correspondence
- Describe as fully as possible the information you are seeking
It would be also be helpful if you were to give a telephone number in case we need to discuss your request with you.
The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000.
The Act:
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gives a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, sets out exemptions from that right and places a number of obligations on public authorities. The term 'public authority' is defined very widely and includes, but is not restricted to central and local government, non-departmental public bodies, the police, the health service and schools, colleges and universities.
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places a number of obligations on public authorities about the way in which they provide information. Subject to the exemptions, anyone making a request must be informed whether the public authority holds the information and, if so, be supplied with it - generally within 20 working days.
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creates a duty to provide advice or assistance to anyone seeking information (for example in order to explain what is readily available or to clarify what is wanted).
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creates the role of Information Commissioner with responsibility for overseeing the operation of the Act. The Information Commissioner is an independent public official responsible directly to Parliament. Richard Thomas holds the position of Information Commissioner. As well as approving Publication Schemes and promoting compliance with the Act, the Commissioner has powers of enforcement.
Data Protection Act
The Data Protection Act gives legal rights to individuals (data subjects) in respect of personal data processed about them by others. This publication scheme will not change the way we handle requests from people for access to their personal data. For Data Protection issues contact the Treasury by email or write to:
The Data Protection Officer
Information Rights Unit
HM Treasury
2/SW
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
Fax 020 7270 4861
Publication Schemes
The Act requires each public authority to adopt and maintain a Publication Scheme. Schemes must specify the classes of information that the authority publishes or intends to publish; the form in which this is or will be done; and whether there is any charge for the information. Information available on our website is provided free of charge.
The Treasury's publication scheme is approved by the Information Commissioner.
The Managing Director of the Ministerial and Corporate Services Directorate has overall responsibility for the Treasury's publication scheme.
Publication Scheme - Feedback
We would appreciate your comments on how useful you have found the Publication Scheme, ways in which it could be improved and how easy you have found it to navigate the structure, so please email us and let us know what you think.
Publication Scheme - Review
The person responsible for maintaining the scheme on a regular basis is
Information Rights Unit
HM Treasury
2/SW
1 Horse Guards Road
London SW1A 2HQ
Fax 020 7270 4861
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Charging for information in the Publication Scheme
For each class of information listed in Part 2 we have indicated whether the class includes chargeable information or not, and where information is normally free. The following categories could apply:
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free of charge on website (ie there is no charge by us, although the user would of course have to meet any charges by their Internet service provider, personal printing costs, etc). For those without Internet access, a single print-out as on the website would be available by post from the Correspondence and Enquiry Unit, HM Treasury, Floor 2/W1, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ. However, requests for multiple print-outs, or for archived copies of documents which are no longer available on the web, may attract a charge for the cost of retrieval, photocopy, postage, etc. We would let you know this at the time of your request. The charge would be payable in advance;
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free of charge hardcopy. List of the available material, and material itself, from Correspondence and Enquiry Unit, HM Treasury, Floor 2/W1, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ;
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chargeable hard copy eg "glossy" or other bound paper copies, (publication lists available from Correspondence and Enquiry Unit, HM Treasury, Floor 2/W1, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ).
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chargeable electronic, eg CD-ROM or Intranet versions, available from The Stationary Office (TSO).
More details of the Government's policy on where charges are made and on determining the level of charges is available in:
Copyright
HM Treasury is a Crown body and the information we produce is subject to Crown copyright, which is administered by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. The material listed in this Publication Scheme is Crown copyright unless stated otherwise. The copyright in some of the material, which may be found in this Publication Scheme, has been waived, meaning you can reproduce this material freely.
Categories of material for which copyright has been waived include: government press notices, legislation and explanatory notes on the legislation, ministerial speeches, consultation documents, documents featured on official websites (except where expressly indicated otherwise), headline statistics and unpublished public records. More details of these and other categories can be found at the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI).
For other types of material however, the supply of documents under Freedom of Information does not give the person or organisation who receives them an automatic right to re-use the documents in a way that would infringe copyright, for example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public.
Brief extracts of any of the material included in this Publication Scheme may be reproduced under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.
Details of the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright material can be found on the OPSI website or by contacting HMSO at: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, Licensing Division, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ. Tel: 01603 621000 Fax: 01603 723000 email: hmsolicensing@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
Authorisation to re-use copyright material not owned by the Crown should be sought from the copyright holders concerned. If in doubt, users should contact HMSO in the first instance.