Appeals Procedure

Information Request Appeals Procedure

Useful Contacts

Information Officer London Borough of Bromley W86 West Wing Civic Centre Stockwell Close Bromley BR1 3UH Telephone: 020 8313 4316 Fax: 020 8290 0608	Department of Constitutional Affairs Selborne House 54 Victoria Street London SW1E 6QW, United Kingdom DX 117000 Selborne House Telephone: +44-(0)20-7210 8614
Information Commissioner's Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF Fax 01625 524 510 DX 20819

Please provide details of your reason for requesting an appeal, responding where possible to the initial decision made by Bromley Council. Please continue on a separate sheet where necessary, indicating the number of additional sheets in the space provided below.

Number of Additional Sheets (where applicable) _________

Judicial Review

Held in the High Court

Appeal to the Information Tribunal

Appeal to the Information Commissioner

Appeal to Senior Member of Legal and Democratic Services

Decision Made by the Information Officer

Decision made by the Information Officer

In cases where the London Borough of Bromley feel unable to release information, the initial decision will be made by the Information Officer. The applicant can expect:

A Response in writing;
The reasons for the refusal with details of the relevant law, and, if applicable, the public interest reasons for not supplying the information.
Details of the appeals procedure.

Internal Appeal to Senior Member of Legal and Democratic Services

If you are not satisfied with the reasons given by the Information Officer for his decision, you may make a written appeal to the Legal and Democratic Services, who will consider the initial decision made. Your notice of appeal must be served on the London Borough of Bromley within 28 days. On receipt of an appeal, the applicant will be informed of Bromley Council's target date for responding.

If it is apparent that determination of the complaint will take longer than the target time, Bromley Council will inform the applicant and explain the reason for the delay.

Where the Senior Member of Legal and Democratic Services decides that the London Borough of Bromley has failed to comply with the information laws, the applicant will be notified in writing about:

The Authority's failure to comply;
The action the Authority has decided to take to comply with the information laws; and
The time period in which this action is to be taken.

External Appeal to the Information Commissioner

If the applicant is not satisfied with Bromley Council's decision, an appeal can be made to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner is an independent official appointed by the State to oversee the information laws. Further information can be found on the Commissioner's website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.

Appeal to the Information Tribunal

A notice of appeal must be served on the Tribunal within 28 days. Both the London Borough of Bromley and the applicant have the right of appeal against the Information Commissioner's decision. An appeal from the Information Commissioner is made to the Information Tribunal.

The Chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Tribunal are legally qualified but there are also lay members. All Tribunal Members are appointed by the Lord Chancellor.

Judicial Review

All parties can appeal on points of law to the High Court. An appeal on a point of law would be on the grounds:

That the Tribunal misunderstood the law;
That there was no evidence to support a particular finding of fact made by the Tribunal; or
That the decision was one that if the Tribunal had directed itself properly on the law, it could not have reached the conclusion it did.

Notice of Appeal