The London Borough Of Hillingdon and the
Freedom of Information Act 2000:
Complaints Procedure

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If you are dissatisfied with a response to a request for information
made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, you can make a
complaint. This document sets out how you should make your
complaint and how we will deal with it.

Introduction

You can make a complaint in circumstances where information has
been withheld because of an exemption or, you are not satisfied with
the response you have received or when the time taken for us to
respond is over 20 working days.

The London Borough of Hillingdon’s FOI complaints procedure is
designed to achieve three aims. Firstly, to inform you about the Act
and your rights; secondly, to review any decisions made regarding the
application of exemptions and finally to rectify any errors made in the
FOI procedure.

There are four stages to the complaints process

1. Informal Discussion
2. Write to the FOI Officer
3. Write to the Deputy Borough Solicitor
4. Information Commissioners Office

Informal Contact

Before instigating a formal complaint in writing, you first contact the
officer who dealt with your request or the Council’s FOI Officer to voice
your concerns. It may be that through a process of informal
discussion they can satisfy your concerns regarding the response by
providing with you information regarding your application and your
rights.

Freedom of Information Officer

If you are unable to resolve the complaint informally, then you should
write to the Freedom of Information Officer who will address your
concerns formally within 15 working days.


Freedom of Information Officer
Legal Services 3E/04
London Borough of Hillingdon
Civic Centre
High Street
Uxbridge
UB8 1UW

Deputy Borough Solicitor

If you unhappy with the Freedom of Information Officer’s response,
then you should write to the Deputy Borough Solicitor. In your letter
you should explain your concerns and give an explanation as to why
you believe that the Freedom of Information Officer’s response was
unsatisfactory. The Deputy Borough Solicitor will then conduct an
independent review of your application for information and your
subsequent complaint. You will receive a response within 15 working
days.
 
Deputy Borough Solicitor
Legal Services 3E/04
London Borough of Hillingdon
Civic Centre
High Street
Uxbridge
UB8 1UW


Information Commissioners Office

If you are still dissatisfied, you can seek an independent, external
review from the Information Commissioner although the internal
review must normally be completed before such an appeal can be
made. Requests for a review by the Information Commissioner should
be made in writing directly to:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700
Fax: 01625 545 510