www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Freedom of Information - complaints procedure
Freedom of Information and Data Protection Complaints Procedure
Section 7(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires the council to produce information about how to complain if there is dissatisfaction with the council’s decision to exempt information.
A complaints procedure for information requests has been produced to ensure that people's rights are upheld.
Standard of Service
All statements of dissatisfaction about our service should be taken seriously and responded to appropriately.In all cases, when dealing with Freedom of Information and/or Data Protection complaints we must do the following:
- Make it clear to the complainant what we intend to do about their complaint and what the timescales are.
- Confirm discussions and actions in writing.
- Ensure that the complainant’s desired outcome is clearly defined.
- Consider the vulnerability/dependency of the complainant. If they are vulnerable or dependent it is very important to ensure that they have appropriate support
- Deal with complaints fairly and consistently, and keep a record of complaints for audit and quality control purposes
- Ensure that the Monitoring Officer is kept informed of the complaints that are received
Key Stages in the Complaints Procedure
STAGE 1 - Informal Stage
A complaint made at this stage should be fairly straightforward to resolve. A customer may wish to raise an issue or concern they have with the information they have received. They may have been expecting something in addition to what they have received or may be unsure of the timescales involved in sending the information and were expecting it to arrive sooner.
In these cases the Information Officer dealing with the case is responsible for replying to the customer. They should inform the Corporate Complaints Officer who will input the complaint onto the complaints database. The customer should expect a response within 10 working days.
The Information Officer concerned will make the customer aware of the next stage in the process and copy any correspondence regarding the complaint to the Corporate Complaints Officer.
STAGE 2 - Formal Complaint and Internal Review
If the customer remains dissatisfied with the outcome at Stage 1, they can ask for their complaint to go through an Internal Review.
The Information Officer dealing with the complaint will pass this over to the Corporate Complaints Officer, who has not been involved with the complaint until this point. The Corporate Complaints Officer must write to the customer to advise them what steps are being taken to investigate the complaint.
The Corporate Complaints Officer will conduct an investigation and write a report. The Monitoring Officer and the Corporate Standards Manager will review the report and determine whether the council’s original decision/position should be changed in the light of the Complaints Officer’s investigation.
The Monitoring Officer will write to the customer advising them of the findings of the review within 28 working days of the Stage 2 complaint being received. If there are to be any delays in meeting this deadline, the customer must be informed straight away. When writing with the council’s decision, the Monitoring Officer will advise the customer of their right to complain to the Information Commissioner if they are dissatisfied with the council’s response.
Contact Details
By Post
Corporate Standards Team
Wiltshire County Council
County Hall
Bythesea Road
Trowbridge
Wiltshire
BA14 8JN
By Email
By Telephone
01225 713643
By Fax
01225 757572
By Hand
This can be either County Hall or via contactpoint in Salisbury Library.
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
