Number of complaints against Conwy Council

Link: [1]File-List

19th January 2010

Case Reference Number IRQ0285800

Dear Mr White

I write with reference to your request for information dated 19 December
2009.  Your request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.

Request:

For the period from 1 September 2008 to date, how many individual
complaints have been made against the council in respect of the council
performance under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and
the Data Protection Act

Numbers Received

Freedom of Information – 4

Data Protection - 5

Outcomes

The outcomes or status of these cases are recorded on our system are as
follows:

Freedom of Information complaints

Closed – Withdrawn – 2

Closed – Insufficient evidence -2

Data Protection complaints

Closed – compliance unlikely – remedial action taken - 1

Open - 4

In two cases the council were asked to review their decisions.  The first
was in relation to a data protection complaint which resulted in the
outcome of compliance unlikely.  The terms ‘compliance likely’ and
‘compliance unlikely’ refer to the duty placed on the Commissioner
when considering an allegation of a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998
to make an assessment as to whether in his view compliance with the
principle of the Act is likely or unlikely.  A breach of any of the data
protection principles is not a criminal offence and the term ‘remedial
action taken’ refers to the organisation having taken some steps to
prevent a breach reoccurring.

The second was part of the informal resolution of a complaint concerning
an alleged breach of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  The council
provided some information which it had previously withheld from the
requester.

There have been no cases which have resulted in legal action.  If you are
dissatisfied with the response you have received and wish to request a
review of our decision or make a complaint about how your request has been
handled you should write to the Internal Compliance Team at the address
below or e-mail [2][email address]

Your request for internal review should be submitted to us within 40
working days of receipt by you of this response. Any such request
received after this time will only be considered at the discretion of the
Commissioner.

If having exhausted the review process you are not content that your
request or review has been dealt with correctly, you have a further right
of appeal to this office in our capacity as the statutory complaint
handler under the legislation.  To make such an application, please write
to the Case Reception Team, at the address below or visit the
‘Complaints’ section of our website to make a Freedom of Information
Act or Environmental Information Regulations complaint online.

 

A copy of our review procedure is attached.

Yours sincerely

Charlotte Powell

Internal Compliance Manager

Yours sincerely

show quoted sections

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 700 Fax: 01625 524 510 Web: www.ico.gov.uk

References

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1. file:///tmp/radBB6D2_files/filelist.xml
2. mailto:[email address]