WEST of SCOTLAND
ARCHAEOLOGYSERVICEWest of Scotland Archaeology ServiceAccess to Information and Charging Policy
This policy statement sets out the framework and guidelines for access to information
held by the West of Scotland Archaeology Service and to information contained in
the West of Scotland Historic Environment Record (HER). It also sets out the level
and circumstances of charges which will be levied by the West of Scotland
Archaeology Service for the provision of HER information and/or curatorialarchaeological advice. The policy was approved by the West of Scotland
Archaeology Service Joint Committee on 19 March 2015.
Access to InformationThe West of Scotland Archaeology Service Joint Committee is fully committed totransparency in its dealings with the public and fully embraces the aims of theFreedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Environmental Information(Scotland) Regulations 2004, the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009, and theaccess provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Joint Committee will makeevery effort to meet its obligations under the respective legislation and will regularly
review procedures to ensure that it is doing so.
Data Protection Act 1998
A right to access exists to inspect personal information held in a computerisedsystem registered under the Data Protection Act. The Data Protection Act gives
rights to individuals about whom information is held either on computer or in amanual record. The Act also places obligations on those who record and use
personal data to be open about that use and to follow sound and proper practices.
The West of Scotland Archaeology Service does not routinely seek to collect or holddata of a personal nature within its records, and only does so to monitor and improve
the services offered by the Service. If you have any queries or concerns about
personal data which may be held by the Service, please contact the manager of theService on 0141 287 8332.
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The West of Scotland Archaeology Service Joint Committee supports the principlethat the public has right of access to information held by the West of Scotland
Archaeology Service. The Committee seeks to promote an open regime regarding
access to information, subject to any exemptions contained within the legislation.

The Archaeology Service of the Councils of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City,
North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, and theLoch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.

Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
The Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004 gives the public the rightto request environmental information. Following the Scottish Government guidanceon what is covered by the Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004,
issued to local authorities in 2005 (Paper 2005/21), the Joint Committee considers
the West of Scotland Historic Environment Record to be a body of information
covered by these Regulations. All enquiries for Historic Environment Record
information will therefore be treated as falling under the Environmental InformationRegulations (Scotland) 2004. Under these Regulations the Joint Committee may levy
a reasonable charge for the provision of information, reflected in the fee charge
policy set out below.
INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009
The purpose of the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009 is to create a Europe-wide
electronic network of spatial information which is accessible to the public. "Spatialinformation" is information which has a geographical reference. Following theScottish Government guidance on the obligations created by INSPIRE (Scotland)
Regulations 2009, issued to local authorities in March 2011 (A Guide to the INSPIRE(Scotland) Regulations 2009 SSI/2009/440), the Joint Committee considers theWest of Scotland Historic Environment Record to include spatial information to whichthese Regulations apply. All relevant spatial datasets within the Historic Environment
Record will conform to the requirements of the Regulations.
Access to Sites and Monuments Record Information
There is no general physical access to the West of Scotland Historic Environment
Record for the public to conduct their own HER searches, as the building whichhouses the Record is unsuitable for such access. It may occasionally be possible byprior appointment to speak to one of the West of Scotland Archaeology Service team,or to view archaeological information in the HER in the Service’s office. To contact
the Service to make an appointment please write, telephone, or email, using thecontact details at the end of this policy statement.
Enquiries to the Historic Environment Record by post, telephone, or email arewelcomed. Historic Environment Record data is also published via a number ofonline search engines as follows:
http://gis.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/mapsWosas/mapSMR.htm(WoSAS’s own map-enabled search)
http://www.wosas.net/search.php(WoSAS’s online database search)
http://jura.rcahms.gov.uk/PASTMAP/start.jsp(Scottish Ministers’ map-enabled search)
The recommended source for online searches of the HER is the first of these, theWest of Scotland Archaeology Service’s own map-enabled search. The online HER
data is provided for public search free of charge.

The Archaeology Service of the Councils of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City,North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, and theLoch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.

Copies of archived reports of archaeological fieldwork, which have been submitted tothe HER, will be made available to the public on request, subject to the charges setout below. Users of such supplied report(s) are reminded that the report(s) remain
the copyright of the author(s) and supply of a copy (or copies) of a report (or reports)by the HER does not entitle the user to infringe this copyright.
Charges for Time to Supply Information and/or Curatorial Advice
At the discretion of the Archaeology Service Manager archaeological information
and/or curatorial archaeological advice will be supplied free of charge to students,
genuine researchers, and members of the public within reasonable limits. TheService reserves the right to decline to process excessively complex or poorly
structured enquiries. At the discretion of the Archaeology Service Manager, there
may be a charge for the provision or use of unusual materials, or for postage andpacking for the supply of information where this cannot be supplied digitally.
Photocopies or offprints may be charged at the cost of 10p per sheet.
The Archaeology Service will impose a charge for the time expended to meetcommercial requests for information and/or curatorial advice. This is intended toreflect the cost of staff time in carrying out the task, related overheads such as themaintenance of the computer systems, compensation for time lost to other functions,and the cost to the Archaeology Service of providing the service. Charges may bewaived at the discretion of the Archaeology Service Manager. Estimates of likely
costs for individual commercial enquiries will be supplied on request, and before any
costs have been incurred.
Provision of digital data extracts from the Historic Environment Record toprofessional archaeological consultants acting for commercial clients will incur acharge of £100 (+VAT) per hour, or part-hour spent in their preparation. In practice,
all but the most complex and large-scale digital extracts are normally prepared within
the first hour. Alternatively the consultant may access the required HER information
free of charge via the West of Scotland Archaeology Service online map-enabled
HER search at http://gis.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/mapsWosas/mapSMR.htm.
Except where detailed below, the charge for staff time spent in providing information,
detailed curatorial advice, or other assistance in respect of commercial requests andenquiries will be £100 (+VAT) per hour, or part-hour, from 1 April 2015 until furthernotice. In the event that a site visit or meeting is required on behalf of the enquirer,
mileage and subsistence at local government rates will be charged in addition. At thediscretion of the Archaeology Service Manager, charges may be waived for theprovision of general scoping information to archaeological contractors prior to theirappointment by a prospective client.
The Archaeology Service can provide curatorial advice to commercial developersand their agents regarding the preparation of documentation which may be required
to address archaeological issues arising from their proposals. The advice on thescope of work and the format and content of the required supporting information andproject design documents is intended to provide advance validation of the documents
The Archaeology Service of the Councils of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City,
North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, and theLoch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.

to facilitate their speedy approval by the planning authority or any other relevant
regulatory authority. In order to allow reasonable financial planning by commercial
bodies, and to avoid time-dependent charges growing unpredictably, the charge forthe iterative process of assessing, commenting on, and agreeing project documents
will be based on the type of document to be considered and the size of the proposeddevelopment application area, rather than calculated at the above hourly rate.
Developers and agents not wishing to take advantage of this assessment and advice
service remain free to submit their preferred draft of the required documentation tothe planning authority for approval. Comments on the suitability, or otherwise, ofsubmitted documentation which has not been assessed and agreed in advance withthe Archaeology Service will be provided to the planning authority at their request.
Table 1.

Scale of charges

Service provided

Proposed Charge

Digital HER extract£100 + VAT/hourPre-application advice to developer/agent£100 + VAT/hour

Validation of developer’s submitted:•Desk-based Assessment (DBA)
All sizes•

Watching Brief Method Statement (MS)All sizes••£100 + VAT£100 + VATWritten Scheme of Investigation (WSI)
0.5ha or less£100 + VAT

0.5ha – 10ha

£200 + VAT

10ha and above£500 + VAT

Archaeological Mitigation Strategy (AMS)
Major & multi-phase applications £500 + VAT
only

Payment is to be made on receipt of an invoice from Glasgow City Council on behalfof the Archaeology Service.
The Archaeology Service of the Councils of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City,North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, and theLoch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.

Guidelines for Access to Historic Environment Record Information
The West of Scotland Archaeology Service works to time performance requirements
set by its Joint Committee. This requires 80% of responses to be made to enquirers
within a 21 day calendar period. In practice many HER enquiries are handled within amuch shorter timescale and typically responses are made within a week. If enquirers
require a more urgent response, they should make this clear on making their enquiry.
Although every reasonable effort is made to verify information contained within theHER database, the database is compiled from a variety of often-unchecked sources.
Unchecked information cannot be seen as definitive. Therefore, the West of Scotland
Archaeology Service does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of any HER
Information supplied by it. The user of HER Information accepts that, except in any
matter where it is not possible in law to exclude or limit liability, the West of Scotland
Archaeology Service accepts no liability whether for direct, indirect, consequential orincidental damages or losses arising from the use of HER Information.
Digital extracts of HER data will only be provided to professional archaeologicalorganisations or bodies capable of handling unmediated archaeological data. Suchextracts will have an expiry time of 6 months beyond which time they will no longer
be valid.
The boundaries of Scheduled Monuments shown on any maps provided by the HER
have been derived from digital data supplied by Historic Scotland and are intended toact as a guide only. For definitive information on Scheduled Monuments the enquirer
should contact Historic Scotland.
The whole of the copyright and all other intellectual property rights throughout theworld for the whole of the term of such copyright in the HER Information is held by
the West of Scotland Archaeology Service. Dissemination to a third party of the HER
Information without the written consent of the Archaeology Service shall be deemeda breach of that copyright. HER Information supplied to an enquirer shall not beretained after the specific use for which it was requested has finished. Where specificconsent under the copyright provisions governing the HER has been obtained fordissemination of HER Information to third parties through publications, reports ortheses, due acknowledgement of the use of HER Information will be given.
Users of HER data will be expected to inform the HER of new sites or of information
which comes to light as a result of their research. Copies of, or access to, thecompleted research should be made available to the HER within 6 months ofcompletion.
The Historic Environment Record may be contacted as follows:West of Scotland
Archaeology Service
231 George StreetGlasgow
G1 1RX

Tel: 0141 287 8333
Email: enquiries@wosas.glasgow.gov.uk
Web: http://www.wosas.net

The Archaeology Service of the Councils of Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City,North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, and theLoch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.