There is no better way to understand the appeal of FOI and EIR to the regular person than the fact that it gives them to chance to find out what’s going on in their local area. You can literally find out what’s happening on your street (or at least try to). One of the most popular targets for requests is the planning process and one of the biggest mistakes many organisations make is to reach for FOI when nearly all planning decisions are covered by the EIRs. This practical, entertaining workshop will delve into this issue and over the main exemptions relevant to the topic

Course includes:

• Why is planning so much more likely to come under EIR than FOI?

• Commercial confidentiality: contracts, viability studies, business plans and costs

• Pre-application discussions: what happens when information is volunteered

• Planning enforcement – complaints, personal data and the use of legal powers

• Building control and other borderline issues

• Legal advice about planning decisions