Freedom of Information
Access to Information Complaints Procedure
Devon County Council is committed to meeting its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
If you have made a request for information and you are not satisfied with how your request has been handled or if you have concern about the way in which Devon County Council is meeting its obligations under the legislation mentioned above, you have the right to make a complaint to us and request an internal review.
Complaints regarding access to information, should be forwarded to Devon County Council’s Information Governance Team, Room 120, County Hall, Exeter EX2 4QD or emailed to foioffice@devon.gov.uk
Handling procedure
Devon County Council’s Access to Information Complaints Procedure is in line with the recommendations set out in the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs' Code of Practice on the discharge of public authorities' functions under Part I of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
All complaints regarding access to information will be acknowledged promptly, and will be assigned to a member of staff within the Information Governance Team, who will firstly seek to address the complaint informally. If the outcome is not to the satisfaction of the complainant, the complaint will be handled under the formal complaints procedure.
Formal Complaints Procedure
An independent officer (a person who has not been involved in any key decisions involving the case) will investigate the complaint and will provide a fair and thorough review of the handling issues and decisions taken under the relevant legislation.
Where the complaint concerns a request for information under the general rights of access, the review will be undertaken by someone senior to the person who made the original decision, where this is reasonably practicable. The Council will in any event undertake a full re-evaluation of the case, taking into account the matters raised by the investigation of the complaint.
Timescales
In all cases, complaints will be acknowledged promptly and the complainant will be informed of the Council’s target date for responding to the complaint. Where it is apparent that responding to the complaint will take longer than the target time (for example because of the complexity of the particular case), the Council will inform the applicant and explain the reason for the delay. The complainant will always be informed of the outcome of his or her complaint.
Devon County Council aims to respond to all complaints relating to access to information, within 20 working days of receiving the complaint.
Where the outcome of a complaint is a decision that information should be disclosed which was previously withheld, the information in question will be disclosed as soon as practicable and the applicant will be informed how soon this will be.
Where the outcome of a complaint is that the procedures within the Council have not been properly followed by the Council’s staff, the Council will apologise to the applicant. The Council will also take appropriate steps to prevent similar errors occurring in the future.
Unresolved complaints
Where the outcome of a complaint is that an initial decision to withhold information is upheld, or is otherwise in the Council’s favour, the applicant will be informed of his or her right to apply to the Information Commissioner, requesting a review of the Council’s decision.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent regulator of the Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
More information about the Information Commissioner’s Office can be obtained from their website at www.ico.gov.uk. To make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, write to Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Contact Us
If you have any queries about Devon County Council’s Access to Information Complaints Procedure, contact the Information Governance Team at foioffice@devon.gov.uk or telephone 01392 384678.
