HC Deb 22 November 1994 vol 250 cc100-1W
Mr. Rooker

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if she will make a statement on the charging policy of her Department and the agencies for which she is responsible in respect of inquires under the code of practice on access to Government.

Mr. Forth

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 Department for Education and the Teachers Pensions Agency are operating the following scheme of charges for information under the code of practice on access to government information:

  • no charge for requests estimated to take up to three hours work
  • a flat rate of £50 for requests estimated to need from three to eight hours work
  • a flat rate of £150 for requests estimated to take from eight to 13 hours work
  • any request requiring more than 13 hours work to be charged at a further £20 for every additional hour worked.

No charge is made for information which was previously provided free or for the categories of information listed in paragraph 71 of the OPSS guidance on the interpretation of the code.