Application for a decision
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Under Part V of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, if you have requested information under the Act and are unhappy with the outcome, you can apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether the body from whom you requested the information. A similar arrangement applies under Part 4 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 with respect to the Scottish Information Commissioner.
How to appeal
Information Commissioner
- Follow the instructions here: [1]
- If you've used WhatDoTheyKnow, where they ask you to attach documents, you can just include the link to your request
Scottish Information Commissioner
- Follow the instructions here: [2]
- If you've used WhatDoTheyKnow, where they ask you to attach documents, you can just include the link to your request
ICO Decision Notices
When a complaint is made against a public authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) investigates the facts behind the complaint and may then issue a Decision Notice. This is the Commissioner's final and formal view on whether or not the public authority has complied with the Freedom of Information Act or the Environmental Information Regulations.
The ICO will also try to resolve cases informally where possible, this helps speed up their case closure times. You can appeal their decisions to the Information Rights Tribunal (formerly known as the Information Tribunal).
A summary of all ICO Decision Notices have been uploaded to FOIwiki - data is current as at 26 April 2010 . This is to help you find out how the ICO have applied their interpretation to the various exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental Information Regulations 2004. The data can be seen either on the relevant exemption pages, or can be browsed here.
ICO Lines to take
In addition to all the guidance on FOI produced for authorities and requesters, the ICO uses internally a number of "Line to take" (LTT) policy documents - these indicate the position they will take when responding to FOI complaints or queries. They are subject to change following differing interpretations of the FOI and EIR made by the Information Rights Tribunal or other Courts.
As at February 2011, there are 188 LTTs. A full list is available here: ICO policy documents: Line to Take
Whistleblowing to Information Commissioners by employees
Under Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996, disclosures to the Information Commissioner and the Scottish Information Commissioner are protected by virtue of SI 1999/1549.
