The Executive Office Publication Scheme

About this publication scheme

Under section 19(1) of the Freedom of Information Act every public authority is required to adopt and maintain a publication scheme setting out the classes of information it holds, the manner in which it intends to publish the information and whether or not a charge will be made for the information.

The Information Commissioner, who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, has drawn up a Model Publication Scheme and a Definition Document for all public sector organisations. The Department has formally adopted the Information Commissioner’s model publication scheme. The scheme is organised into seven classes of information which are set out below. This structure aims to save you time and effort when searching for information.

You can also use our Publications search which contains all the documents we have made available.

What we publish in our publication scheme

If the information you require is listed below, but you are unable to locate the information on this website, please contact the Executive Office’s Departmental Information Manager, details can be found via the contacts via the link to the right.

1. Who we are and what we do

Current information on:

• Roles and responsibilities
• Organisational structure - The Executive Office’s internal structures and functions
• Information about legislation relevant to the Department’s functions - An explanation of any legislation for which the Executive Office is the lead government department
• Lists of and information about organisations the Department is responsible for, those it works in partnership with and those it sponsors – Information identifying the relationship between such bodies and the Executive Office
• First Minister, deputy First Minister and our two Junior Ministers; Head of the Civil Service and Departmental Board and Senior Management Team – Identification and responsibilities
• Locations of, and contact details for, the Executive Office

2. What we Spend and how we spend it

Where applies information for the current and previous two financial years on:

• Financial statements, budgets and variance reports – The Executive Office’s departmental position published annually
• Pay and grading structures
• Procurement procedures - Details of procedures for the acquiring goods and services, and contracts available for public tender
• Lists of contracts awarded and their value - Contracts that have gone through formal tendering
• Financial statements for projects and events  
• Internal financial regulations – The Executive Office is governed by the Financial Regulations as set out in Managing Public Money (MPMNI)

3. What are our Priorities and how are we doing

Where applies information for the current and previous three years on:

• Strategic plans
• Annual business plan - OFMDFM’s departmental annual business plan
• Annual report - Financial annual report and business plan annual report published showing the departmental position
• Impact assessments
• Statistics produced in accordance with departmental requirements
• Public service agreements - The Executive Office’s public service agreements at departmental level

4. How we make Decisions

Where applies information for the current and previous three years on:

• Major policy proposals and decisions
• Background information for major policy proposals and decisions - Relevant facts and analysis important to framing major policy proposals and decisions
• Public consultations – Information on consultation papers, results and outcomes
• Minutes of senior-level meetings – Minutes of the OFMDFM Management Board and the Permanent Secretaries Group
• Reports and papers provided for consideration at senior-level meetings
• Internal guidelines

5. Our Policies and Procedures

Current information on:

• Policies and procedures for conducting departmental business
• Policies and procedures for the recruiting and employing staff
• Customer service – Includes the Executive Office’s general complaints procedure and individual standards and procedures in relation to requests for information, operating the publication scheme, public appointments and congratulatory messages from Her Majesty The Queen
• Records management and personal data policies - Includes OFMDFM’s Financial Data Matching Policy. General records management and data protection policies are currently being revised and will be published when available

6. Lists and Registers

Current information within:

• Public registers and registers held as public records
• Register of gifts and hospitality provided to Ministers/senior personnel – Registers for senior personnel are available
• OFMDFM’s register of interests – The register is published for the Executive Office’s Departmental Board members and senior civil servants

7. The Services we offer

Information on:

• Regulatory responsibilities
• Services for public authorities
• Services for industry
• Services for other organisations
• Services for members of the public
• Leaflets, booklets and newsletters
• Advice and guidance
• Media releases – From April 2007 onwards

The Executive Office contacts

At senior level within the Executive Office, responsibility for Freedom of Information issues lie with the Director of Corporate Services

The Director can be contacted by writing to the following address:

The Executive Office's Departmental Information Manager has operational day-to-day responsibility for Freedom of Information, including the departmental publication scheme, and can also advise on Data Protection issues.

You can contact the Departmental Information Manager by writing to:

The Information Management and Central Advisory Branch is a small team of Executive Office staff who take forward issues such as Freedom of Information, Data Protection and Records Management for the Executive Office. The branch can be contacted by writing to:

Requests for information can be emailed to: foi@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk.

Information Commissioner

More information about Freedom of Information, publication schemes and Data Protection can be obtained from the Information Commissioner who oversees and enforces both the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Telephone: 0845 630 6060/01625 545 745
International: +44 (0) 16 2554 5700

Website: Information Commissioner's Office website.

Northern Ireland Regional Office

Telephone: 028 9027 8757/0303 123 1114
International: +44 (0) 28 9027 8757
Email: ni@ico.org.uk

If you can’t find a document

If you can’t find the information you want please contact Information Management and Central Advisory Branch (IMCAB) and we will try to help.

If the information you want is not routinely published, you can make a request for it under the Freedom of Information Act.

You can also make an Environmental Information Request.

Crown copyright and licensing

The material on this site is subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated.

You may use and re-use the information featured on this website (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence with only a few conditions.

• Open Government Licence (National Archives website)

Information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Therefore information you receive which is not subject to Crown copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any third party (non-Crown copyright) information.