HC Deb 21 November 1994 vol 250 cc53-4W
Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish the pricing structure applied to members of the public or organisations applying for information under the open government code of practice.

Mr. Redwood

In line with guidance on charging produced by the Office of Public Service and Science, which recognises the diversity of cost and operational structure across the range of bodies implementing the code, the Welsh Office and its agency Cadw operate the following scheme for charges under the code of practice on access to government information

No charge is made for straightforward requests, including information necessary to explain: benefits, grants, rights and entitlements; the standards and availability of services; the reasons for administrative decisions made in the applicant's case; the ways in which the citizen may exercise rights to appeal or complain about a decision; regulatory requirements affecting affairs of a business, or commercial interests; and the main points of existing departmental policies or initiatives. A charge will be levied where requests do not come within any of these categories and where the staff costs, including overheads as set out in the Treasury guide to fees and charges, to provide the information exceed £100. Up to £100 would normally cover, for example, a day's worth of an administrative officer's time.

For applications expected to cost more than £100 to process, applicants will be given a written estimate and their confirmation that they wish to proceed will be obtained before the work goes ahead. Applicants are informed of their rights of appeal against the imposition of charges, to the Department and Cadw in the first instance and ultimately to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

The charging policy of the Planning Inspectorate executive agency in Wales, for which I am jointly responsible with the Secretary of State for the Environment, follows the charging policy for the Department of the Environment.

The charging policy of ADAS, for which I am jointly responsible with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, follows the charging policy for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.