How we make decisions

How we make decisions

Decision making process and records of decisions.

We would expect information in this class to be available at least for the current and previous three years.

• Major policy proposals and decisions. Information that can be made available to the public without damaging relations with other governments or the development of government policy.
• Background information for major policy proposals and decisions. This will include facts, and analyses of facts, relevant and important to framing major policy proposals and decisions.
• Public consultations. Details of consultation exercises with access to the consultation papers or information about where the information can be obtained. The results of and outcomes of consultation exercises.
• Minutes of senior-level meetings. We would expect management board minutes and minutes of similar meetings where decisions are made about providing services to be readily available. This excludes information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting.
• Reports and papers for senior-level meetings. Information presented to those at meeting making executive decisions. This excludes information that is properly regarded as private to the meeting.
• Internal communications guidance, criteria used for decision making, internal instructions, manuals and guidelines. If access to internal instructions, manuals and guidelines for dealing with the business of the department would helo the public understand how decisions were made, these should be readily available. We would not expect information that might damage the department's operation to be revealed.