Freedom of Information

For an FOI request to be valid it must:

• be in writing
• include your real name and a postal or email address
• specify the information you're requesting

We recommend you search our website and check our publication scheme first.

You can make an FOI request by: 

• writing to Finance and Governance Department, Information Governance Team, PO Box 64529, London, SE1P 5LX
• emailing accessinfo@southwark.gov.uk
• calling 020 7525 7511

Cost limits

The law states that all requests that take us under 18 hours to gather and respond to (or that cost less than £450) must be free. We do not usually respond to requests that cost more than £450.

If a request exceeds this amount, we'll help to narrow it to avoid breaching the limit.

When estimating whether a request will breach the appropriate limit, we include:

• the time it would take to determine if we hold the requested information
• the time it would take to locate, extract and retrieve it

Fees and disbursements

If there are disbursement charges, you'll be notified in writing. All payments must be received before we complete your request. 

These charges are for photocopying, postage or alternative formats like CDs.

If you don't reply in 3 months, we'll assume you're not interested in the information.