FOIA PUBLICATION SCHEME

Prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000

Introduction

• The Committee on Carcinogenicity
• The Committee on Mutagenicity
• About the Freedom of Information Act 2000
• What the publication scheme is for
• Our copyright policy

The COC & COM Publication Scheme

Access to information under the scheme

The Information Asset Register (IAR)

Complaints procedure

Your feedback

Introduction

The Committee on Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COC)

The Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COM)

1. The COC & COM are independent bodies of experts formed in 1978 to provide advice to government on the safety of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment. With the formation of the Food Standards Agency, responsibility for the COC and COM and their sister committee, the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) now falls jointly between the Department of Health and the Agency.

2. The terms of reference for COC and COM are:

• To advise at the request of:

Department of Health
Food Standards Agency
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department of Transport
Department of Trade and Industry
Health and Safety Executive
Pesticide Safety Directorate
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
Environment Agency
Health Protection Agency
Home Office
Scottish Executive
Welsh Assembly Government
Northern Ireland Executive
Other Government Departments and Agencies

• To assess and advise on the toxic (includes carcinogenic and mutagenic) risk to man of substances which are:

  a. used or proposed to be used as food additives, or used in such a way that they might contaminate food through their use or natural occurrence in agriculture, including horticulture and veterinary practice or in the distribution, storage, preparation, processing or packaging of food;

  b. used or proposed to be used or manufactured or produced in industry, agriculture, food storage or any other workplace;

  c. used or proposed to be used as household goods or toilet goods and preparations;

  d. used or proposed to be used as drugs, when advice is requested by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

  e. used or proposed to be used or disposed of in such a way as to result in pollution of the environment.

• To advise on important general principles or new scientific discoveries in connection with toxic risks, to co-ordinate with other bodies concerned with the assessment of toxic risks and to present recommendations for toxicity testing.

4. The COC has a chairman and consists of 13 Members and the COM has a chairman and consists of 10 Members. They cover areas such as in vitro and in vivo mutagenicity testing DNA adducts, molecular biology of cancer, animal carcinogenicity, epidemiology and statistics. There are three non-specialist members who provide valuable insights into the concerns of the public.

About the Freedom of Information Act 2000

5. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 received Royal Assent on 30 November 2000. The Act will not be fully in force until 2005. It will give a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities, provide exemptions from that right and place a number of obligations on public authorities. The COC and COM are such authorities. When the Act is fully in force, any person who makes a request to a public authority for information must be informed whether the public authority holds that information and, subject to exemptions, be supplied with that information. This individual right of access to information will be brought into force in January 2005.

6. From November 2002, the Act will require the Committees to have in place their publication schemes, which are guides to the Committees' publications and policy. It is intended to provide a framework for you to obtain direct access to these published documents.

What the publication scheme is for

7. The COC and COM, along with every other public authority from November 2002, have a legal duty under Section 19 of the FOIA 2000 to:

• adopt and maintain a scheme which relates to the publication of information by the authority and to have that scheme approved by the Information Commissioner;

• publish information in accordance with that scheme; and

• review the scheme from time to time.

8. The publication scheme specifies:

• the classes of information which the public authority publishes (or intends to publish);

• the manner in which information in each class is, (or is intended to be), published and;

• whether the material is (or is intended to be) available free of charge or on payment of a fee.

9. The aim of the COC and COM publication scheme is to bring together in one place the many differing types of information that are issued by the Committees in the discharge of its public functions in a clear and structured manner. The scheme will categorise the information type and provide details on how to obtain it. The overall benefit to our stakeholders and others is to save time and effort in searching and securing relevant Committee information.

Our copyright policy

10. The Committees report to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Department of Health, England and Chair of the Food Standards Agency and as such information is subject to Crown copyright protection administered by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. The Department authorises you to make one free copy, by downloading to printer or to electronic, magnetic or optical storage media, of any items featured in our publication scheme for the purposes of private research, study and / or reference. If you wish to re-use or reproduce any of our publications for any other use, for example commercially or for circulation for education or other purposes, you will in most cases need to apply for a copyright licence to do this. Applications for a copyright licence are available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office Copyright Unit, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ (Fax: 01603 723 000) or email copyright@hmso.gov.uk

11. Where we hold documents or material belonging to or shared with another copyright holder, we will, if possible, give you their contact details or a hyper-link to their website to assist you in accessing the document or material.

12. For HMSO Guidance Notes on a range of copyright issues, see the HMSO website at http://www.hmso.gov.uk/guides.htm. If you are still unsure as to whether copyright restrictions apply to a particular document located within our publication scheme, you can contact:

The Librarian
Skipton House
80 London Road
London SE1 6LH

The COC and COM Publication Schemes

13. All information on the Committees can be found at: www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/coc

and www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/com

NOTE 1: Contact details / addresses

Committee Secretariat: You should in the first instance contact Mr Khandu Mistry at:

Mr Khandu Mistry
Room 523
Wellington House
133 - 155 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8UG

Tel: +44 (0)20 7972 4946
Fax: +44 (0)20 7972 1001
Email: Khandu.Mistry@dh.gsi.gov.uk

Access to information under the scheme

14. The COC and COM's general policy is to be as open and transparent as possible in dealing with all requests for information.

15. If, having searched the scheme, you cannot find what you are looking for, you can contact the Secretariat.

16. We will treat all requests for information on a fair and equal basis, and without prejudice. Where we are unable to provide the information you request, we will explain why. Where we decide not to release the information you request, we will explain why and give you details of how you can appeal against our decision.

17. Applications for information under the Department's Code of Practice on Openness should be made to the Secretariat and should provide as much detail as possible to identify the information sought:

18. We will not normally charge a fee to supply copies of information or advice, unless the request is for a priced publication or data set. However, we reserve the right to make a reasonable charge to cover the costs of transcription, photocopying, packaging and postage, or where a considerable amount of staff time would be needed to identify, process and collate information for you. In some cases, there will be separate charging arrangements for the supply of information for commercial use. We will inform you of any charges that might apply before processing your request.

19. Where the information you want is available in a priced publication, we will give you details of the publication and where you may buy it.

20. If you are not satisfied with the reasons we have given you have the right to complain. You may also complain if you believe the charges we have made to supply information are unfair.

The Information Asset Register (IAR)

21. Information on the IAR is available on the HMSO website at www.inforoute.hmso.gov.uk or from;

Complaints procedure

22. Even the best organisations will sometimes get things wrong. If you are dissatisfied with something we have done or the way we have done it, please let us know. We will try to resolve any problem quickly, and explain what we have done and why. Hearing from you will help us improve by learning from our mistakes.

23. If you have a complaint, contact the Secretariat.

24. If we cannot deal with your complaint immediately, we will acknowledge it within two working days (please always give us your full postal address). We will write to you with a full reply within 20 working days of receiving your complaint. If this is not possible, we will explain why and say when you will get a full reply.

25. If you are not satisfied with our response and would like to take your complaint further, please contact the Complaints Co-ordinator at the address above. We will look at it again and give you a full reply within 20 working days.

26. If you are still unhappy, you can then ask the Complaints Co-ordinator to refer your complaint to the Chief Executive of the Department of Health, Sir Nigel Crisp.

27. If you remain dissatisfied with the way the Committees have acted, you may then ask for your complaint and its handling to be investigated by the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman). You should write to a Member of Parliament to ask them to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman. The telephone number for the House of Commons Information Office, where you can get information on contacting an MP, is 020 7219 4272.

28. You will be able to complain direct to the Information Commissioner if you feel we have not complied with our obligations under that requirement. Further details are available at www.dataprotection.gov.uk.

29. If you prefer, you may alternatively contact the Information Commissioner direct at:

30. This scheme fulfils our legal duty under Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. We would positively welcome any views and comments on the structure and / or content of the scheme itself. This scheme will be treated as a 'living' document, which we will amend and develop in the light of our experience, as appropriate.

31. When commenting, we would particularly ask you to actively consider the following:

• did you find the structure and layout of this scheme easy to understand and navigate?
• were you looking for some specific information?
• did this scheme facilitate that search successfully?
• if you were browsing, did the scheme help guide your search and make the process easier?
• are there any types of information or areas that are not currently covered by the Scheme that you would like to see in the future?
• do you have any suggestions or other comments that might make this scheme more user-friendly or helpful?

32. Please send your views and comments on this scheme, stating your name, organisation (if relevant) and contact details, to;

Mr Khandu Mistry
Room 523
Wellington House
133 - 155 Waterloo Road
London SE1 8UG

Tel: +44 (0)20 7972 4946
Fax: +44 (0)20 7972 1001
Email: Khandu.Mistry@dh.gsi.gov.uk

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copyright: © | updated: 13 June 2007