Our organisational values include treating people with openness and honesty, and respecting their privacy. These values reflect our legal obligations and society’s expectations. Generally, complainants have rights to see information we hold about them. But there are also limits on what we can and should provide to them and what we can and should publish generally. Detailed guidance on the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations, including the strict timescales for compliance, is set out in the Information Sharing Manual.

The Information Sharing Manual contains instructions we must consider when sharing information with complainants, Bodies In Jurisdiction and others. Its key principles are:

• Only share what is relevant to the decision
• Do not share information from or about third parties
• Ensure we have consent to share
• Be mindful of safeguarding
• Delete irrelevant/ duplicate information
• Enquiries should be focused and specific
• Do not accept embedded documents
• Record reasons for sharing/ not sharing information
• Clearly mark information that cannot be disclosed and use the Do Not Disclose folder

The manual contains more detailed information about confidentiality, enquiries to the BinJ,  sharing data with complainants, use of the Do not disclose virtual folder, Data not shared virtual folder, N&A, Redaction , Sending sensitive casework material by email or post and Frequently Asked Questions.

If you are unsure of how any of this relates to your complaint, please speak to your manager, the Chair of the Information Working Group or our Data Protection Officer.

Section 32(3) notices

The BinJ may sometimes be reluctant to provide us with information. We have wide powers to require information, but BinJs (other than adult social care providers under Part 3A) may serve notice under s32(3) of the LGA 1974 that we should not share information with anyone else including the complainant, but only if they consider it “would be contrary to the public interest”. This may prevent us passing on the specified document or information. We must record any notices served in ECHO. However, the Secretary of State may overrule such a notice. (See the LGA 1974) We should not normally invite the serving of a notice. The DIA should be notified of any notice served.