Guide to Information

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (the Act) requires Scottish public authorities to produce and maintain a publication scheme. 

 Info logo This page was last reviewed and updated on 18 April 2024

Scottish public authorities are under a legal obligation to:

  • publish the classes of information that they make routinely available
  • tell the public how to access the information and what it might cost.

West Highland Housing has adopted the Scottish Information Commissioner’s Model Publication Scheme.

The purpose of this Guide to Information is to:

  • allow the public to see what information is available (and what is not available) in relation to each class;
  • state what charges may be applied;
  • explain how to find the information easily;
  • provide contact details for enquiries and to get help with accessing the information; and
  • explain how to request information we hold that has not been published

The Guide is split into the following six sections:

Availability and formats

The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on our website. We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises. For example, we can usually arrange to send information to you in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this - see charges below).

Exempt information

We will publish the information we hold that falls within the classes of information below. If a document contains information that is exempt under Scotland's freedom of information laws (for example sensitive personal information or a trade secret), we will remove or 'black out' the information before publication and explain why.

Copyright

Where we hold the copyright in published information, the information may be copied or reproduced without formal permission, provided that:

  • it is copied or reproduced accurately;
  • it is not used in a misleading context; and
  • the source of the material is identified.

Where we do not hold the copyright in information we publish, we will make this clear.

Charges

This section explains when we may make a charge for our publications and how any charge will be calculated.  There is no charge to view information on our website or at our premises.

We may charge for providing information to you, but we will charge you no more than it actually costs us to do so. We will always tell you what the cost is before providing the information to you.

Our photocopying charge per side of paper is shown in the tables below:

Black and White Photocopying

 Size of paper

 Pence per sheet

 A4

 10p
 
Colour Photocopying

 Size of paper

 Pence per sheet

 A4

 20p

Postage costs will be recharged at the rate we paid to send the information to you.  Our charge is for sending info by Royal Mail First Class.

For information about charges applied for requests for information, please click here. 

The classes of information that we publish

  • Class 1: About us
  • Class 2: How we deliver our functions and services
  • Class 3: How we take decisions and what it has decided
  • Class 4: What we spend and how it spends it
  • Class 5: How we manage our human, physical and information resources
  • Class 6: How we procure goods and services from external providers
  • Class 7: How we are performing
  • Class 8: Our commercial publications
  • Class 9: Our open data

To explore the information published under each information class, please click here to visit our publication scheme.