NORTHERN IRELAND FISHERY HARBOUR AUTHORITY
PUBLICATION SCHEME
Duties and Responsibilities of NIFHA
The Authority is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (executive NDPB) sponsored by the Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland.
The Authority is a statutory body established in 1973 under the Harbours Act (NI) 1970 and the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority Order (NI) 1973 and is responsible for the three fishing harbours and harbour estates of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie. The Authority is a relatively small public body employing a total of 25 people at the three harbours and at its head office, which is located in Downpatrick.
The primary functions of the Authority are:
¨ To manage and maintain and improve the harbours and harbours
estates
¨ To operate such facilities as may be provided at the harbours
¨ To dredge and maintain the harbour channels and entrances
¨ To lease, dispose of or develop land vested in the Authority
¨ To make Bye-Laws to control the day-to-day running of the harbours and
associated facilities.
The Authority is a key service provider to its main principle customer groups, namely fishing vessel owners/skippers and the tenants of the three harbour estates. The Authority has 5 key areas of operation:
¨ The provision of safe harbour and berthing facilities
(including dredger operation)
¨ The provision, operation and management of hygienic fishmarket facilities
¨ The provision of ice supplies
¨ The provision of vessel slipway facilities
¨ Estate management and development
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The main features of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are:
¨ A right to be told whether information is held by a public authority, and a right to have that information supplied to you upon request, subject to certain discretionary exemptions;
¨ It imposes a duty on each public authority to adopt a scheme for the proactive publication of information. This Scheme will specify the classes of information the Authority intends to publish, the manner of publication and whether the information is available to the public free of charge or on payment of a fee. The purpose of a Scheme is to ensure that a significant amount of information is available, without the need for a specific request.
¨ Strong independent, enforcement of the rights and duties created by the Act by the new office of Information Commissioner and, on appeal, to the Information Tribunal.
¨ The Freedom of Information Act will apply to a wide range of public authorities, including central and local Government, Parliament, the police, hospitals, GPs and Dentists, schools, publicly funded museums and thousands of other public authorities.
¨ Individuals already have the right of access to information about themselves under the Data Protection Act 1998. As far as public authorities are concerned, the Freedom of Information Act will extend this right to allow public access to all types of information held.
Equality Duty:
The Authority has considered its statutory equality obligations for the Publication Scheme under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Authority's screening criteria have been applied to the Publication Scheme and have indicated that there is no evidence of significant implications on the equality of opportunity or good relations duties within the terms of Section 75 of the Act. There is therefore no requirement to carry out an equality impact assessment on the Publication Scheme.
The Publication Scheme will be made available, in other formats on request i.e. Braille, disc, audiocassette and minority languages. Equally, in certain circumstances, some very large documents may be made available for viewing by arrangement.
The Publication Scheme:
The Publication Schemes is the vehicle that the Authority will
use to inform the public what information it publishes or intends to publish,
where it can be accessed and whether the information will be available free
of charge or at a specified cost. If you want to find out what information
we publish, for example, annual reports, corporate plans and equality publications
then look here. Where possible the Authority will aim to publish information
on its website at www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk. However some information may only
be obtained via the post and if this is the case the Head Office may be contacted
at the relevant number listed.
The Chief Executive of the Authority, Mr Chris Warnock, will have responsibility
for the Scheme and its implementation.
Charging Information:
The Authority will indicate in its Publication Scheme if there is a charge for a copy of the Publication you request. The Scheme will also indicate which of the following categories could apply to the information you request.
a) No charge on website, i.e. there is no charge by the Authority, although the user would of course have to meet any charges by their Internet service provider, personal printing costs, etc. For those without Internet access, a single printout as on the website would be available by post from the Authority's Head Office.
b) Available by post. For all information available by post it will be necessary to forward a Stamped Addressed Envelope (SAE). The Head Office will advise on the cost of postage for a particular document.
c) Free of charge to view at the Harbour Offices or elsewhere. However a charge for a certified photocopy from Head Office may be applicable. The Authority will let you know the relevant charge at the time of your request and the charge will be payable in advance.
d) Information detailed in the Publication Scheme will be supplied on the basis of one copy only.
e) Requests for archived copies of documents may attract a charge for the cost of retrieval or photocopy. The Authority will let you know this at the time of your request. Any charge will be payable in advance.
Complaints Procedure:
When a complaint is made on the grounds that the Authority has failed to comply with the Scheme or if an applicant is dissatisfied with the response they have received, the point of contact will be the Authority's Chief Executive, Mr Chris Warnock, 3 St.Patrick's Avenue, Downpatrick, BT30 6DW, Telephone 028 4461 3844, Fax 028 4461 7128. The Chief Executive will carry out an internal investigation of the complaint and respond to the complainant/applicant in one month.
If the complainant/applicant remains dissatisfied, he/she can seek an independent review from the Information Commissioner. Requests for a review by the Information Commissioner should be made in writing directly to:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Chesire SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
Fax: 01625 545 510
The Authority will develop the Publication Scheme in response to requests for information, and further classes will be included as required. The Authority would also encourage the public to provide feedback in the form of comments, suggestions or complaints that will help to improve future versions of the Scheme. In addition, arrangements can be made to set up consultative meetings should interested groups wish to discuss these matters further.
|
DOCUMENT |
DESCRIPTION |
AVAILABILITY |
NOTES |
| Class on Information: Business and General | |||
| Annual Report & 2000 to present | The Authority's Annual Report & Accounts | Post; Website (www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk) | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
|
Corporate Plan. 2000 to present |
This contains information concerning the Authority's objectives and targets, and the vision for the future | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Business Plan | Summary of Authority's Annual Operating Plan (Only available for 2003/2004 onwards) | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| List of Board Members | The Authority's Board Members | Post; Website (www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk) | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Class on Information: Social Responsibility | |||
| Equality Scheme | This contains information on how the Authority proposes to fulfil the duties imposed on it by Section 75 of the NI Act 1998, which came into effect on 1st Jan 2000. | Post; Website (www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk) | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
|
Equality Scheme Progress Report 2001/02, 2002/03 2003/04 |
This contains details of the Authority's progress in implementing Section 75 of NI Act 1998. (The 2001/2002 report includes a Policy Screening Report and timetable for EQIAs) | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| New TSN Action Plan | The New Targeting Social Needs Action Plan. New TSN is a policy to tackle poverty and social disadvantage. | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs) as available | Analyses findings, conclusions and recommendations on EQIAs carried out by the Authority | Post, Website (www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk) | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Class on Information: Operational | |||
| Health and Safety Policy (including Risk Assessments) | The Authority's Policy on Health and Safety | From Harbour Offices | Visual Viewing only |
| Code of Safe Working Practice | Guidelines for safe working on harbour estates owned by the Authority. | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Fishmarket Code of Practice | Guidelines for the operation of Authority fishmarkets which are designed to enhance product quality | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Port Marine Safety Code | Navigational Risk Assessments for the Authority's 3 harbours | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Minutes of Port User Meetings | Minutes of Port User meetings which are held quarterly by rotation in each Harbour | Post | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Bye-Laws | Authority Bye-Laws applying to the harbours of Ardglass, Kilkeel and Portavogie. | Post; Website (www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk) | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |
| Schedule of Dues and Charges | Details of dues and charges for service provision. | Post; Website (www.nifha.fsnet.co.uk) | From Head Office on presentation of stamp addressed envelope (SAE) |