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Comments and complaints

 
The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to request information held by public authorities.

Subject to any defined exemptions, the Council has a duty, once we receive a request in writing, to:
  • tell you whether or not we hold the information
  • give you the information if we have it.

How to complain

If you are not satisfied with our response to your information, you should put your complaint in writing to the named officer who got back to you.

You should include your name and an address so that we can write back to you.

What happens next?

We will confirm receipt of your complaint in writing.

Where possible, we will then try to resolve your complaint on an informal basis. If you are still not satisfied with our response, a full review will be carried out. 

Informal process

  • We will first contact you and discuss your concerns on an informal basis.
  • If we reach a resolution with you, we will confirm this in writing to you. We aim to complete this informal process within 5 working days of receipt of your letter of complaint.
  • If you remain dissatisfied, we will confirm that in writing and refer it to the departmental director for a full review.

Full review

  • The director will either carry out the review or arrange for a person who was not a party to the original decision to do so. In certain cases the review will be carried out by the Chief Executive.  
  • We aim to provide you with the outcome of the review within 20 working days from the date we received your letter of complaint. 
  • If we are unable to respond within this time, we will inform you in writing, giving the reason for the delay and a date when a full written reply can be expected.

Further action

If remain dissatisfied with the Council's response to your request or the way it is handled, you can make a request for the Information Commissioner's Office to review it.

Complaining to the Information Commissioner's Office

A to Z of Services

Contact the Freedom of Information Office

Further information