16 Complaints about our response

If the requester is not happy with the response they receive they must first complain to the LGSCO in writing. An access reviews leaflet for complaints is available. We ask them to submit their complaint within two months of their response request.

All complaints must be sent to the Executive Assistant (“EA”). This will generally be via the FOI Appeals inbox, which should be monitored on a daily basis. Where complaints are sent to the FOI Officer inbox or direct to the IRO they will alert the EA to them.

The EA will acknowledge the complaint and pass it to a senior manager.

For all casework complaints the EA will add it to the ECHO record and set a task for the senior manager and the IRO (send an email in the case of corporate information). The IRO will update the “Other Contact” screen on ECHO, as appropriate, and log the complaint on the central record.

Requesters can complain on any of the following grounds:

• Failure to correctly apply an exemption.
• Failure to provide the information requested.
• Failure to respond to the request within statutory timescales
• Failure to give proper advice and help.
• Failure to give information in the form requested.
• Failure to properly explain any reasons for refusing the request (although a full explanation quoting exemptions is not required under the DPA).

There is no specific timeframe within which a review must be undertaken, although the ICO advises that 20 working days is reasonable and no review should take longer than 40 working days. We publish our 20 working day target time and measure how successful we are at meeting the targets.

While maintaining the principle that a different person should deal with a complaint, it is reasonable to consult the person who dealt with the original request (usually the IRO) before responding to the complaint.

The IRO should be notified of the outcome, and will include this on the central record and set the “Other Contact” screen target date for four months to ensure the records are not file managed and allow time for escalation to the ICO.

Requesters who remain dissatisfied may complain to the ICO who will decide whether the request has been handled properly.

August 2021