Customer Services 
 
Leeds City Council 
 
 
 
Ground Floor 
 
West Gate 
Mr T Nunn 
6 Grace Street 
 
Leeds 
Via e-mail 
LS1 2RP 
Contact Name:  Paul Broughton 
Telephone: (0113) 376 0001 
Fax:  (0113) 245 6931 
Minicom: 0845 127 1113 
Email:  [email address] 
Ref:  3497 
 
Date:  26th November 2009       
 
Dear Mr Nunn 
 
Thank you for your recent request for an internal review of Leeds City Council's 
handling of your Freedom Of Information request regarding 'LG Act 1974 Part III Section 
32(3) notices'. Your request was received on 5th November 2009. 
 
The issue you raise is that you believe that a statutory notice is a legal document and as 
such should have been issued by our Legal department. You ask for clarification on the 
question as to whether our Legal department issue legal notices without keeping a record. 
 
Our Head of Legal Services has confirmed that although a section 32(3) notice has a legal 
effect, there is no actual requirement within the LG Act 1974 that a Section 32(3) notice has 
to be given by the council’s lawyers, it is sufficient that the notice is given by “the authority”, 
therefore allowing Officers to issue them on the Council’s behalf.  
 
As a council, we only use a Section 32(3) notice on a very small number of cases mainly 
disputes involving third parties where we believe that it would be inappropriate to make 
certain information publicly available eg: in relation to safeguarding matters. In such cases it 
is however necessary that the Local Government Ombudsman sees our full records so that 
they can make an informed decision on the case.  
 
Although we do not have an exact number of cases that we have used a Section 32(3) 
notice on for the last five years, I have requested that a manual count be done of this 
current financial year to provide you with an idea of how often they are used. For the period 
1st April 2009 to 1st November 2009 Leeds has responded to 57 cases with the 
Ombudsman and of these cases 6 had Section 32(3) notices on them. As previously 
confirmed, over the last five years Leeds City Council has not been found guilty of 
maladministration with regards to the use of Section 32(3) notices. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
www.leeds.gov.uk 
Switchboard:  0113 222 4444 
 
 

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I trust the information given above provides you with the clarity you require.  
 
If however upon receipt of our response to your request for a review you are dissatisfied 
with the outcome then you can apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. There 
is then a further right of appeal to the Information Tribunal. The Council will co-operate fully 
with any investigation relating to an application to the Commissioner, or an appeal to the 
Tribunal. 
 
The Office of the Information Commissioner can be contacted at:- 
 
FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution,  
The Information Commissioner  
Wycliffe House, 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK95AF 
Tel. (01625) 545 700 
[email address] 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
Paul Broughton 
Chief Customer Services Officer 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
www.leeds.gov.uk 
Switchboard:  0113 222 4444 
 
 

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