Review procedure for information requests

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Scope

This procedure is intended to be used if a customer wishes a review to be conducted of the way the council has responded to a request for information made under the Freedom of Information Act, the Environmental Information Regulations, or the Data Protection Act.

When this procedure is used

Most requests for information should be responded to by the service that holds the information. The council’s commitment to transparency means that we should always seek to disclose the information that has been requested unless there are persuasive reasons not to do so. In those cases, there are statutory exemptions that may be applied – officers should always seek advice and guidance from the Principal Information Officer, who is in the Governance Service, before seeking to apply exemptions, because this a complex area.

Sometimes we find it necessary to refuse a request or only to make partial disclosure of the information that has been requested, or a customer may be dissatisfied with the outcome of their request for other reasons. They have a statutory right to ask for an internal review of the council’s response. These reviews will be conducted by a member of the Governance Service or someone appointed by them.

Internal review

If the customer is dissatisfied with the response they receive to their initial request for information, they can request an internal review. It is important that they are told of this right at the same time as they are sent the response to their original request.

Customers should be told that if they wish the original decision to be reviewed, they should write to the Principal Information Officer, Governance Service, County Hall. They should submit their request for a review within 40 working days from the date they receive the response that they wish to appeal.

The Principal Information Officer will arrange for the original decision to be reviewed. You will need to provide the reviewer with all of the information that was requested, including copies of any information that was exempted. The reviewing officer will then be able to make a decision about whether any exemptions were properly applied, and whether the council has complied with its statutory duties.

The reviewing officer will write to let the applicant know of the outcome of the review giving a full explanation of the reasoning underlying their decision. If they decide that some or all of the information that has been requested should be released to the applicant, they will send that with their decision. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, reviews should be completed as soon as possible, and in any event within 40 working days of the request for a review being received by the Governance Service.

If the complaint is upheld, the Governance Service will write to the applicant providing a statement of failure to comply, the action(s) that will be taken in order to ensure compliance, and the period within which that action will be taken.

When writing with the council’s decision, whether or not the complaint has been upheld, the council will, in informing the applicant of the outcome of the review, advise them of their right to complain to the Information Commissioner if they are dissatisfied with the council’s response. They can be contacted at Information Commissioner’s Office at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, 01625 545745.

Last updated: 4 February 2011