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A Guide to our Information

Welcome to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's website that aims to provide as much information about us as possible in line with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  The website acts as our publication scheme and this guide should assist you in finding the information you are looking for quickly and easily.

Our Access to Information Policy describes West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's approach to making information available to the public and details our commitment to sharing information and to making it available to anyone who is interested in it.

The information that we routinely publish can be grouped under the following categories:

• Who we are and what we do
• What we spend and how we spend it
• What are our priorities and how are we doing
• How we make decisions
• Our policies and procedures
• Lists and registers
• The services we offer

Within each of the above sections is a large amount of information and documents that we publish on our website and these can be freely accessed, printed and downloaded for personal use.  Commercial re-use of our information is strictly forbidden without the permission of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.  Any such commercial requests should be emailed to: information@westyorksfire.gov.uk

We strongly believe that by publishing information about fires, other emergencies and how we manage our services we will achieve greater understanding, trust, engagement and openness with the public.  Information about our services, particularly the provision of fire safety advice, is critical to achieving our principal aim:

Provide an excellent Fire and Rescue Service working in partnership to reduce death, injury and economic loss and contribute to community well being.

In order to help achieve this aim we intend to:

• share information proactively
• use your requests to improve and develop the service we provide
• identify the information that people want and make it as widely available as possible
• make everyone at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service aware of the need to provide quality information
• review and revise our guide to information
• make information available in plain language
• make as much of this information as possible available via our website
• respect the wishes and interests of third parties
• respond in a timely way
• provide advice and assistance, even if we cannot give you the information you want
• make information available free of charge (where possible)
• review our policies and procedures to make sure they serve you well

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Who we are and what we do

In this section you will find information about how the Authority and Service are structured, our locations and key contacts.

• The Authority
• Staff Structure
• Geographical area of operation
• General outline of responsibilities
• Relationship with other authorities and organisations
• Contact information                   

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What we spend and how we spend it

Here you will find financial information relating to projected and actual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.

• Summary of revenue budget estimates and capital expenditure plans
• Annual statement of accounts
• Financial audit reports
• Staff pay and grading structure
• Expenses for members of the Authority
• Procurement procedures and contracts
• Internal financial regulations and delegated authority

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What are our priorities and how are we doing

This section contains our strategies and plans, performance indicators, audits, inspections and reviews.

• Strategies, business plans, aims and objectives including statistical information
• External reports indicating service provision, performance and operational assessment
• Joint working

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How we make decisions

Information regarding our decision making process and the recording of those decisions can be found in this section.

• Schedule of meetings
• Agendas and approved minutes of the Authority and Authority sub-committees
• Background papers for meetings open to the public
• Facts and analyses of facts used for decision making
• Public consultations

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Our policies and procedures

A comprehensive guide to our current written protocols, policies and procedures for delivering our services and responsibilities is contained in this section.

• Policies and procedures for the conduct of Authority business
• Policies and procedures for the provision of services
• Policies and procedures about the employment of staff
• Customer service
• Records management and personal data policies
• Charging regimes and policies

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Lists and registers

Here you will find details on the lists and registers that we maintain that are open to the public.

• Asset lists
• Registers open to public inspection
• Register of members' interests
• Register of gifts and hospitality

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The services we offer

In this section you will find information about the services we offer, including leaflets, guidance and newsletters.

• Information about the provision of our services
• Regulatory responsibilities and procedures
• Leaflets and explanatory booklets
• Services for which the Authority is entitled to recover a fee
• Media releases

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Accessing our information

The purpose of this guide is to make sure that a significant amount of information is available without the need for a specific request.  The guide brings together the many different types of information available to the public in a structured way and provides details as to how it can be obtained.  This aims to save you time and effort.

Information contained within this guide is available in a number of ways:

1. On our website - information available on our website can be downloaded or printed free of charge.
2. By post - hard copies of the information contained in this guide may be requested and will be supplied free of charge for personal use (requests for multiple copies may attract a charge to cover the cost of photocopying, postage etc.).
3. By personal inspection - some information contained in this guide may be viewed, by appointment, at our Headquarters in Birkenshaw.  Arrangements to view or copy information may be made by negotiation with the Information Management Officer by emailing: information@westyorksfire.gov.uk or telephone 01274 473787.

We aim to routinely publish as much information as possible unless:

• we do not hold the information;
• the information is exempt under one of the FOI exemptions or Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) exceptions, or its release is prohibited under another statute;
• the information is archived, out of date or otherwise inaccessible; or,
• it would be impractical or resource-intensive to prepare the material for routine release.

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Requesting information not covered by this guide

We have made a commitment to openness to provide, as far as possible, information not covered by this guide. 

To request information that you cannot find through this guide please refer to the Freedom of Information Requests section.

If you want to make a request for personal information that you believe West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service holds about you then refer to the Data Protection Subject Access Requests section.

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