The Information Commissioner's Office has now allocated a Case Reference Number for our complaint about the Home Office's refusal to disclose any information about the time, date and geographical extent of the Terrorism Act 2000 Section 44 and 35 Authorisations (see the rest of the HO Terrorism Act 2000 s44 Authorisations Category Archive), which are supposed to grant temporary, limited powers of Stop and Search without reasonable cause to the Police.
The ICO's standard email footer information and disclaimer is getting longer and longer !
From: FOI-Enquiries@ico.gsi.gov.uk
To: [email address]
Date: Tue, 06 May 2008 11:05:56 +0100
Party Name6th May 2008
CASE REFERENCE NUMBER FS5019nnnnDear [name]
YOUR INFORMATION REQUEST TO THE HOME OFFICE
Thank you for your recent correspondence in which you make a complaint about the Home Office's decision not to release the information you requested.Your case has been allocated to one of our case resolution teams who will contact you as soon as possible to explain how your case will be progressed. Due to the volume of complaints we are receiving at present it may be several months before you hear from us.
The Information Commissioners Office is an independent public body set up to promote public access to official information. We will rule on eligible complaints from people who are unhappy with the way public authorities have handled requests for information under The Freedom of Information Act 2000.
If you need to contact us about any aspect of your complaint please contact our Freedom of Information Helpline on 08456 306060, or 01625 545745 if you would prefer to call a 'national rate' number, being sure to quote the reference number at the top of this message.
Yours sincerely,
Sent on behalf ofMr Paul Arnold
Head of Customer Service
FOI Case Reception Unit
THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE
SERVICE STANDARDSMAY 2008
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is an independent body set up to make sure that organisations handling information follow the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000, together with their associated regulations, namely, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
We provide advice to organisations about how to handle certain information properly and can take action against those who refuse to take the law seriously. We can also advise you about your rights and in some cases, investigate complaints. For further information about how we investigate complaints please see our 'when and how to complain' leaflets. You can download these from our website (www.ico.gov.uk[1]) or you can ask our Helpline to send you copies on 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 545 745 if you
would prefer to call a national rate number.OUR CURRENT RESPONSE TIMES
Some matters are more complex than others. Below is some information indicating how long it currently takes us to deal with the complaints, enquiries and telephone calls we receive. By 'deal with' we mean 'responding' to enquiries, 'providing the outcome' to a complaint and 'answering' telephone calls. All reference to 'days' means calendar days.
Complaints and Enquiries covered by the Data Protection Act or the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
58% of all casework in this area is dealt with within 30 days, 75% is dealt with within 90 days and 92% within 180 days of receipt.
Complaints and Enquiries covered by the Freedom of Information Act or Environmental Information Regulations.
52% of all casework in this area is dealt with within 30 days, 63% is dealt with within 90 days, 67% within 180 days and 81% within 365 days of receipt.
Calls to our Telephone Helpline
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If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service we have provided, please see our case review and service complaints policy. This is available from our website, or you can ask our Helpline to send you a copy on 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to call a national rate number.
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