The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to ask for official information from public authorities. If you think a public authority has wrongly withheld information, you can complain to us.
When can I complain?
You can complain about a public authority if:
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they have failed to provide the information you asked for;
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they have failed to tell you whether or not they hold information;
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they have failed to respond to your request within time limits (normally 20 working days);
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they have failed to give you proper advice and help;
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they have failed to give information in the form in which you requested it;
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they have failed to properly explain the reasons for refusing the request;
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they have failed to correctly apply an exemption under the Act – in other words, they have refused to disclose information for the wrong reason;
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they have overcharged you for providing information.
Before you complain to us
First, you should complain directly to the public authority itself, asking it to review what has happened. The authority should have its own complaints procedure.
If the authority has no complaints procedure or if you don’t believe it has dealt with your complaint properly, you can contact us. You should do this as soon as possible, or within two months following the final response of the public authority.
Supporting evidence
You will need to provide us with information in support of your complaint otherwise it may not be eligible for further consideration. Our complaint form will explain the kind of information we need, but if you are unsure please call our Helpline on 08456 30 60 60.
Make your complaint
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By post
: If your supporting evidence is in hard copy, you can fill in the Word version of our complaint form, print it out and post it to us with your supporting evidence.
Freedom of Information Act complaints form (word version for submission by post).
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By email
: If all evidence in support of your complaint is available electronically, please complete our complaints form (word version for electronic submission) and save it to your computer before submitting it as an attachment, along with any evidence, to our online enquiry form.
Important: information included in the form, and any supporting evidence will be sent to us by email. Email cannot be guaranteed secure as email messages can be intercepted.