Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004

Complaints process

For general complaints, not related to a query under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) or Environmental Information Regulations (EIR), please see our complaints procedure.

If you have a complaint about the response to your FOI request, there is an internal process to address your concerns. To start the process, write to the contact named in the response to your request, explaining your complaint and they will contact our FOI team. We always aim to deal with complaints within 20 working days of receipt.

Step 1

We will refer your request for review to a member of our FOI team who are experienced in FOI and EIR law and are independent of the original request handling team. If your complaint is upheld, we will:

  • apologise and provide any information withheld
  • re-evaluate the processing time to handle any request refused that is too costly or manifestly unreasonable
  • explain why some information was withheld or why your request was refused in full

In some cases it may be necessary to escalate the complaint to a member of our senior management group.

Our FOI team will write to you about your complaint, and how we have decided to resolve the issue. If the original response is upheld, you may wish to use Step 2 in the complaints process below.

Step 2

If your complaint is not upheld, or you feel your complaint has not been handled properly, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire     SK9 5AF

Website: www.ico.gov.uk

 

 

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