Publications Scheme

Welcome to the Publications Section of the Office for the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. This Publication Scheme is based on the Information Commissioner’s model scheme for non-departmental public bodies (www.ico.gov.uk). Under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000, the Office for the Prisoner Ombudsman has a duty to maintain a Publication Scheme outlining what information we publish, how it is made available, and whether the information will be available free of charge or on payment.

To meet this duty, all information that falls within the Publication Scheme is available from this website and is free of charge unless we consider the cost to be excessive. The Office for the Prisoner Ombudsman makes all such information available on its website. Most of the information is available on this Publications page however other pages also provide information about What we do, how to Contact Us and Our Team.

If you cannot find what you are looking for on our website, please contact us to let us know what you require. Please note that the Office for the Prisoner Ombudsman has a disclosure policy which governs the disclosure of certain information relating to investigations. This policy operates in conjunction with data protection regulations to which the office must comply and means that, just like every other organisation, in some instances we would not provide the information requested.

We recognise that some people do not have access to, or are not comfortable with the use of the internet or websites so we will therefore provide an alternative form of a publication when requested.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act gives individuals the right to access information from a public authority, unless there are responsibilities and exemptions under the law which prevent such access. Exemptions are listed fully in the Freedom of Information Act.

The Office for the Prisoner Ombudsman is committed to providing as much information as it legally can about its work. If you want information which you think the Office has, and which you cannot find in our Publication Scheme, you can simply request it. All requests for information will be acknowledged and a response issued within 20 working days.

To make a Freedom of Information request you must:

• Provide your name and address for correspondence;
• Make it in writing; and
• Be as clear and specific as possible about the information you want.

Requests should be sent to:

Freedom of Information Request,
The Prisoner Ombudsman for NI,
100 Belfast Road,
Holywood,
Co Down,
BT18 9QY

Email: PA/prisoner.ombudsman@prisonerombudsmanni.org.uk

Please identify any accessibility requirements you may have and if you need to receive the information in a specific format such as large print or Braille. We will try to ensure that you are not charged for the supply of information however, if there is a cost involved, we will let you know about this beforehand.

If you are dissatisfied with our response to a request you made, you can address the matter if you wish by submitting a complaint, in writing, to the Prisoner Ombudsman’s Office as follows:

FOI Complaint,
The Prisoner Ombudsman for NI,
100 Belfast Road,
Holywood,
Co Down,
BT18 9QY

Email: PA/prisoner.ombudsman@prisonerombudsmanni.org.uk

If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved, you can progress the complaint, in writing, directly to the Information Commissioner at:

ICO Northern Ireland The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
51 Adelaide Street Belfast,
BT2 8FE

Telephone: 028 9026 9380
Fax: 028 9026 9388
Email: ni@ico.gsi.gov.uk