Make a freedom of information request

Information we may withhold

We may need to withhold (exempt) information. We typically withhold information if:

• it takes more than 18 working hours to provide the information
• we don’t hold the information that you have requested
• it contains personal information of someone who isn’t the requester
• the information is already published or you can access it another way, which might involve a legal fee
• it relates to law enforcement information and its release could influence law enforcement activity
• its disclosure would negatively affect our commercial interests, or that of another organisation
• it’s privileged information in respect of legal case or advice
• it’s information intended for future publication

Costs

There is no charge for most requests.

We will let you know if we need to charge a fee. We won’t process the request until you make payment by cheque.

If you request a postal response then we will charge you:

• 10p per printed page
• the actual cost of postage which we notify you of in advance

We do not charge a fee for information that is withheld.

Make a request for information

Make a Freedom of Information request

Get help with making your request

If you have difficulty typing or writing then call our Customer Services team on 020 8356 3000.

We will make a note of your request and direct it to the appropriate team.

We need an email address to send you our written response.

There is no phone line for the team that handles information requests. They also do not make outbound calls.

After you submit your request

After you submit your request we:

• check that it’s a valid request
• work with the service area that may hold the information you have requested
• prepare a written response
• respond to your request within 20 days – we may lawfully extend the deadline

If your request is better handled as a routine service then we will process it outside of Freedom of Information or Environmental Information laws. The relevant department will respond to you directly.

The Information Governance Team decides whether to process a request as a legal request or a routine service request.

Tell us if you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your request

We will complete an internal review if you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your request.

Let us know by replying to our email within 40 days of our response.

We will:

• review our handling of the request to make sure we comply with legal and regulatory requirements
• aim to respond within 20 working days

The Information Commissioner’s Office is unlikely to accept a complaint unless you first give us a chance to resolve the issue.

If you are unhappy with our response to your review request, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Our performance

You can find information on our performance for the last two years below.

We only have performance information for 2022 and 2023 because we introduced a new case management system in 2021.

We report performance with a two month delay to take into account extensions and requests received late in the month.

See our Freedom of Information (FOI) performance report (google sheet).

We’re working to improve our information request performance and have adopted the action plan below. We’re in regular contact with the Information Commissioner’s Office as we work to improve our performance.

See our FOI Action Plan (google docs).