Information Governance Appeals
North Yorkshire County Council
This document outlines the appeals process that service users can exercise if unhappy with
the way in which a request for information has been handled. This document covers requests
made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Environmental Information Regulations
2004, and Data Protection legislation.
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ppeals regarding Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations
(EIR) Requests
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the County Council has responded to your request for information
under the FOI Act or EIR then you may request that the Council conducts a statutory
Internal Review. You may
wish to request such a review if you:
are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been handled,
do not agree with an exemption that has been applied to the information you have requested,
believe that not all of the information has been provided to you.
Upon receipt the Information Governance Manager will appoint an officer to handle your complaint. Where
possible the appointed officer will not have had any involvement in your original request and will have more
seniority than the original responding officer. The reviewing officer will then examine your original request and
the response that was sent to you and decide whether the Council responded to your request appropriately
according to legislative requirements. The reviewing officer will also decide whether to uphold or overturn
decisions to withhold information.
The Council will conduct FOI and EIR Internal Reviews
within 20 Working Days.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to an Internal Review you may appeal to the Information
Commissioner’s Office (see overleaf).
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ppeals regarding Subject Access Requests (SAR) and other Data Protection requests or
concerns
If you are dissatisfied with the way in which the County Council has responded to your Subject Access Request
or other Data Protection request/concern then you may request that the Council conducts an
Internal Review.
Unlike with the FOI/EIR process this is
not a statutory requirement but is instead a stage that the Council has
chosen to adopt. You may wish to request such a review if you:
are dissatisfied with the way in which your request has been handled,
do not agree with an exemption that has been applied to the information you have requested,
believe that not all of the information has been provided to you.
Upon receipt the Information Governance Manager will appoint an officer to handle your complaint. Where
possible the appointed officer will not have had any involvement in your original request and will have more
seniority than the original responding officer. The reviewing officer will then examine your original request and
the response that was sent to you and decide whether the Council responded to your request appropriately
according to legislative requirements. The reviewing officer will also decide whether to uphold or overturn
decisions to withhold information.
The Council will conduct Data Protection Internal Reviews
within 30 Calendar Days.
If you are dissatisfied with the response to an Internal Review you may appeal to the Information
Commissioner’s Office (see overleaf).
Appeals |
Information Governance Office
H
ow to Request an Internal Review
To request that the Council conducts an Internal Review you should contact the Information Governance
Manager on the below contact details:
Information Governance Manager
North Yorkshire County Council
County Hall
Northallerton
North Yorkshire
DL7 8AL
Email:
xxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Telephone: 01904 55 2848
When requesting an Internal Review you should supply the following information:
Your name (so that we can identify you and your request)
Your contact details (so that we can contact you with our response)
Request reference number (this should have been provided to you when the Council responded to your
original request)
Reasons why you are dissatisfied with the response to your request
The Information Governance Office will acknowledge your request for an internal review within 5 working days
and advise you of timescales for responding.
Please be aware that Internal Reviews will not usually be conducted if 2 Calendar Months
have passed since your request was responded to.
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fter the Council has considered your appeal
If, following the completion of an internal review, you still remain dissatisfied with the way in which the Council
has handled your request then you may appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is the
UK’s Freedom of Information and Data Protection Regulator.
You can do this by contacting:
First Contact Team
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Email:
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Phone: 0303 123 1113
If you are dissatisfied with the ICO’s response to your complaint then you may be able to take your complaint to
the information tribunal. The ICO will give you details about this when they issue their decision notice.
For more information about how North Yorkshire County Council processes your personal data you may wish to
read our Privacy Notice on our website: www.northyorks.gov.uk/privacy
Appeals |
Information Governance Office