Better Transport

If you don't think your request should have been refused, appeal.

• With EIRs you have to do so within 40 days
• With the FOI Act, there isn't a timeline

Your authority will likely have an appeals process for you to follow.

Ultimately if your dispute has not been resolved you will appeal to the Information Commissioner but you cannot do this until you have exhausted the authority's complaints process.

Your appeal will have to be in writing (letter, fax or email). Say which aspect of the decision you are unhappy about and say why you think its wrong, if you can. But it isn't your responsibility to demonstrate that the authority is wrong. The authority has to show that it has complied with the law.

Then wait
An appeal under the EIRs must be dealt with by the authority as soon as possible and in any case within 40 working days. There is no set time limit for an authority to deal with an appeal under the FOI Act. The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) guidance says complaints about simple matters should be dealt with in 2-3 weeks and complex complaints within 6 weeks. An authority should tell you at the outset how long it expects the appeal to take.

The authority cannot charge you anything for making a complaint.

How to complain to the Information Commissioner
You can complain to the Commissioner if:

• The authority has dealt with your appeal but you still believe it has failed to comply with the legislation in some way
• The authority hasn't dealt with your appeal within the required time limit set out in the EIRs. As there is no fixed time limit for complaints in the FOI Act, you can only ask the UK Information Commissioner if he or she will investigate if the authority hasn’t reached a decision within a 'reasonable' time

You will need to send them all correspondence relating to the case. The Information Commissioner's Office will give clear advice on how to submit an appeal. Please consult it fully before contemplating action against your authority. It is free to complain to the information commissioner.

The Information Commissioners Office will make a decision based on the evidence and will issue a decision notice. The authority has to abide by its findings. The time taken to investigate varies between a couple of months and a couple of years!

If you or the authority disagrees with the ICO decision you have the right to appeal to the Information Tribunal.

Other sources of help
Campaign for Better Transport is not an advisory body for getting access to information. There are other organisations that specialise in access to information and they should be able to help you.

Friends of the Earth Rights and Justice Centre 

The Rights and Justice Centre has a very useful online request generator

A good guide to the FOI Act and the EIRs, produced by the Campaign for Freedom of Information 

The Campaign for Freedom of Information