If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive, you have the right to request an internal review.
As an officeholder within the public sector, the Compliance Officer for IPSA is subject to the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
The Freedom of Information Act gives a general right of access to information held by Public
Authorities and we embrace our obligations under the Act.
The Code of Practice, issued under section 45 of the FOIA states that each public authority should have in place a procedure for dealing with complaints in relation to its handling of requests for information.
All requestors have the right to complain if they are unhappy with the handling of a request for information, made under the FOIA. This could be because:
an exemption was applied, meaning the request (or a part of it) was denied
the 20-working-day deadline was not met
a full response was not provided, or
the request was otherwise not handled correctly
Requesting an internal review
If you are unhappy with a response you have received under the FOIA, you should contact the
Compliance Officer for IPSA within two months of the date of the response, at the following address:
Compliance Officer for IPSA, 2nd Floor, 85 Strand, London WC2R 0DW
or by email to compliance@theipsa.org.uk
In the first instance, an attempt will be made to respond to your complaint(s) swiftly and informally.
If this is not possible, a full internal review will be carried out. You need not state your reasons for
requesting an internal review, but it can help us to ensure your concerns are fully addressed if you do.
Timeframe
Unlike FOI requests, there is no statutory time frame for carrying out internal reviews, but we aim to provide a full response within 20 working days. In acknowledging any request for an internal review, we will inform you of the date you should expect a response.
If it is not possible for us to reach a decision within 20 working days, we will write to you again to keep you informed of our progress.
Procedure
The Code of Practice states that the review should be undertaken by someone senior to the person who took the original decision, where this is reasonably practicable. As the Compliance Officer for IPSA is an independent office-holder in his own right, he/she is the most senior individual capable of undertaking the review.
The Compliance Officer will undertake a full re-evaluation of the case, taking into account the matters raised by the investigation of the complaint.
As part of the review, the Compliance Officer will consider whether:
the response provided was handled correctly under the terms of the FOIA
there have been any developments since the original response
the information contained within the response was correct and true, as of the date of
responding
any further information should be provided
there are any lessons for handling requests in the future
Once the review has been carried out, you will be notified in writing whether the original decision has been upheld (or otherwise), alongside the conclusions informing the decision.
Complaining to the Information Commissioner
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the
Information Commissioner’s Office under section 50 of the FOIA. You may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Or you may wish to visit the ICO’s website.
