You can make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to request for any information the Combined County Authority holds unless it is about yourself. You do not need to give a reason.
You can also ask for information about environmental matters by making an Environmental Information Request. Where we talk about FOI requests on this page, it applies to Environmental Information Requests as well.
The Information Commissioner’s website has more information about how to access information from a public authority.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Submit Requests
EMCCA accepts Freedom of Information (FOI), Environmental Information Regulation (EIR), and Subject Access Requests (SARs), including requests that have been prepared using artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Before submitting a request, we recommend that you review any AI-generated content carefully to ensure that:
Artificial intelligence tools can occasionally generate inaccurate, misleading, or fictitious information. Where a request is unclear, excessively broad or contains errors, EMCCA may contact you to seek clarification before processing your request.
The use of AI does not affect your statutory rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations 2004, or UK data protection legislation. All requests will be assessed in accordance with the relevant legislation and Information Commissioner’s Office guidance.
Before making an FOI request, check if the information is already available online. You can find information about the Combined County Authority on the website or search our published responses to FOI/EIR requests on our Freedom of Information responses page
You must make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request in writing. The fastest way to make a request is by using the online form below or by email. If you write to us by post, please include an email address if you have one. We will respond to your request via email, unless you specify otherwise. If you cannot make your request in writing because of a disability, contact us and we should help you to make the request another way.
You should not make an FOI request to ask us about a service you are receiving. Contact the service directly for requests about service maters. To ask for information that we hold about you, please make a Data Subject Request instead.
Freedom of Information requests should be made in writing. Please fill in the form linked below as fully as possible so that we can deal with your request efficiently.
Items marked with an asterisk (*) must be completed. Other information may help us with your enquiry, but you do not have to supply it.
When you send us this form, you will be sent an email which will contain the information you submitted. This will be sent to you without encryption so please ensure you do not include any sensitive information on this form.
We will only process the information you provide on this form to deal with your Freedom of Information Request.
The information you provide may be shared across the various service areas of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), as well as the Authority’s Constituent Authorities in order to fully investigate and answer the request. Where we need to liaise with a third party who provides a service for the Authority, we will only share details of the request. We will not share your personal information. We will contact you to get your permission if it becomes necessary to pass on any personal information.
You can also make a request by
You should include:
After you submit a request, we will:
We may need to ask you more information to clarify your request. If we do, the time limit to respond starts after we have received the clarification from you.
Sometimes we will need to extend the deadline to respond to your request. We will contact you to let you know if this is the case.
It is free to make an FOI request. You may be charged if postage and photocopying costs over £10.
If there is a charge, we will tell you the amount and you have the choice of paying or withdrawing your request. If we do not hear from you after one month, we will treat the case as withdrawn.
We may not be able to provide the information requested if:
If we refuse your request due to the amount of time it would take, we will give you guidance on how you can reduce the request.
Sometimes we cannot release information to the public because it may:
If we decide that an exemption or exception applies, we will tell you why. Where relevant, we will explain the public interest reasons for withholding the information. You can appeal against this decision, and we will include details of how to do this in our response.
The ICO website has more information about refusal of requests.
You can ask for an internal review if:
To request an internal review, email foi@eastmidlands-cca.gov.uk within two months of our response.
We aim to acknowledge internal review requests within three working days and complete them within 20 working days. This may be extended to 40 working days if the review is complex.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our internal review, you can complain to the information commissioner.