Access to information request

[sasha]

Does anyone have any experience of applying to their LA for 'Access to Information' or 'Freedom of Information Act'? If so, how did you find the experience? Did you find out information which contradicted what may have been said in court? How 'upfront' are the LA in providing you the information?

Does anyone have a template I could use please in order to cover all lines of possible information they may hold please?

[sasha]

If I haven't posted this in the correct place admin, please advise or feel free to move to correct thread.

Can anyone help me with this please - it is urgent.

Thanks

[David Roth]

I haven't requested my personal information from a local authority, but I have twice written to over 150 local authorities making a request for information under Freedom of Information Act - in both cases I was asking for detailed information about their family and friends care policies.

I would have to say that both times the responses varied enormously. Some local authorities (a few) went out of their way to be helpful, some just provided the minimum they felt they could get away with, and some just ignored me. Like so many other local government policy issues, responses to Freedom of Information requests are a postcode lottery.

I don't know if you've seen our Advice Sheet, but number 26 takes you through the process of applying for information held under the Data Protection Act: http://frg.org.uk/need-help-or-advice/advice-sheets

If the local authority isn't being helpful, you can consult the Information Commissioner's Office: http://ico.org.uk/for_the_public

[Robin D]

If the matter has been to court, the LA will refuse the information on the grounds that its already been examined by the court. We took one such matter through the complaints process and eventually (after about 3 years including over 6 months with their legal dept) the "independent" report cleared us and basic said amongst ,many other things, that social workers had jumped to conclusions and 'may' have applied their own value judgements in what was presented to court. By then the case was long over with the decision in our favour anyway, so a letter of apology, and promises of additional training were accepted, on the grounds that we that couldn't fight any longer.

Best wishes .... Robin

[sasha]

Hello David & Robin,
Thank you for your replies.

It doesn't surprise me that you received varying responses from different authorities but that just annoys me more because there doesn't appear to be any standardisation across their services, but that's probably too much to expect.
I have read the advice sheet 26 and I am very familiar with the ICO.
I'm not sure how the local authority can refuse of the grounds of whether a case has been before the courts or not, but I'm sure they'll try.
In our case it's about knowing what they have covered up or falsified in order to know what they're likely to say (or have said) to the prospective adoptors or intend to file in my grandchildren's file(s).
I could say more but I will be going off subject.
I have managed to locate a very good template for a DSAR and I assume a fee will be required for each person involved? ie; BM/Grandson/Granddaughter. However, the fact that I am mentioned in some reports am I able to DSAR in my own right or do they need my permission to release such information to bm etc, albeit I am in reports surely they need my permission to release that information in a DSAR?

Sasha

[David Roth]

I would have thought your approach could be to request all information that is held by children's services about you, in whatever location, and then to list the names of the case files where you are aware this information might be held.

However, if information about you is mixed with information about other people in a report that is in somebody else's file, the local authority may raise objections to you seeing it on the grounds that you should not have access to information about the other person without their consent.

I have not previously supported someone making a request in a situation like the one you have described, but I wonder whether you and birth mother could make a joint application, making it explicit in the application that you both consent to seeing each other's information?

It could be worth a call to the Information Commissioner's office to discuss the best approach - but if you do this then please do let us know what advice you are given, so we can let others in similar circumstances know what the advice was for you.