Our policies

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, you have a right to request any recorded information held by Lancashire Combined County Authority. 

The information you require may already be publicly available.

The Authority has a duty to make information available via a publication scheme. Before you submit a request, please check the publication scheme.

If you need to make a request, it must be done in writing.

You can submit a request either:

• online
• by writing to: County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire PR1 8XJ

If the information that you are seeking is held by one of the upper tier councils you must contact Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council or Blackpool Council directly to make your request.

You do not need to say why you want the information.

Your request must include your name, and an address for correspondence (if you apply by email, your email address is a suitable address for correspondence).

Please ensure you identify the information you want as clearly as possible.

With certain limited exceptions, you are entitled to a response within 20 working days.

It costs nothing to make an information request. However, the Authority can refuse to deal with your request if doing so would cost more than £450 (which equates to 18 hours' work).

In extreme circumstances, the Authority may also charge for the cost of photocopying and postage.

You may not get the information you asked for if:

• the Authority does not hold the information you have requested
• the information is exempt from disclosure
• finding the information you have requested would take longer than 18 hours
• we are unable to supply any of the information you have requested. In these cases, we will tell you the reasons why

For more details please refer to the Information Commissioner's Office website.

Freedom of information complaints: internal review

If you are not satisfied with the way your request for information has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act, you can request a review using the Internal Review Process.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) provide you with the right of access to information held by Lancashire Combined County Authority. We will make every effort to ensure that valid requests are answered promptly and professionally. However, if you are not satisfied, you have the right to request a review into the response that you have received regarding your request for information or to complain about our handling of your request.

Advice and informal resolution

All responses to requests for information should include the standard appeals paragraph which advises requestors that if they are dissatisfied with the response they have received or wish to complain about the handling of their request, they should contact the officer replying in the first instance.

This period of informal resolution is to be encouraged in an attempt to clarify outstanding points or resolve any misunderstandings at an early stage rather than proceeding direct to a formal review.  

All officers responding to requests have a duty to provide advice and assistance to the requestor as far as it is reasonably practicable to do so.

Whilst informal resolution should be attempted where appropriate, a requestor has a right at any stage to apply for an internal review. 

What you can request a review about

• request for a review of a decision to withhold information
• complaint about the handling of a request for information

An applicant is entitled to complain to the Authority if:

• it is believed that the application was not dealt with within the 20 working day time limit
• we have not confirmed whether the information is held
• all the information requested is not received
• a reason for the request being refused is not received
• it is felt that exemptions have been wrongly applied
• it is felt that a fee has been wrongly applied 

The Authority reserves the right to ask the applicant for clarification of the grounds of their complaint, if the grounds are not clear. 

What you can't request a review about

Not liking the answer you have received, for example a report shows that some repairs have been undertaken, but you don’t think the work has been completed properly. If you are unhappy with the implications of the information provided to you, we will put you in direct contact with the department concerned.

Please note that abuse of the review procedure, such as repeated requests for reviews following every request made, may be treated as vexatious and refused. 

How to request a review

You must put your request for an internal review or complaint about our handling of your request in writing.

Please send this to: County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire PR1 8XJ

Or email: foi@lancashire-cca.gov.uk

Your request should be made within 40 working days after receipt of our response. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, requests made more than 40 days after the response will not be considered.

Please quote your original reference number and clearly explain the reasons why you disagree with our response or are dissatisfied with our handling of your request.

You may provide supporting evidence if applicable, and any information provided will be used to help assess your request. 

What you can expect

• your request for a review of our response, or the handling of it, will be considered free of charge
• it will be acknowledged promptly and within 5 working days of receipt by email
• requests for reviews of responses to, or the handling of EIR requests will be dealt with as soon as possible, and in any event, within 40 working days of receipt, in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s guidance
• requests for reviews of responses to, or the handling of, FOI requests will be dealt with within 20 working days of receipt
• in exceptional circumstances (for example, when it is necessary to reconsider the public interest) it may be necessary to extend the deadline for response by a further 20 working days. If that is the case, you will be informed and given an explanation for the delay, which will not exceed a total of 40 working days
• the review of responses to, or the handling of, requests will be dealt with in a fair and impartial manner. As such the review will be undertaken by a reviewing officer (the reviewer) who will assess the merits of the review request and who did not deal with your original request
• the reviewer will be trained in / have an understanding of FOI and EIR legislation
• the reviewer will request copies of all material (documents, emails etc) connected with the processing of the request whether or not it was disclosed in the original response. Other staff may also be involved before reaching a decision
• the reviewer will make a fresh decision based on all available evidence at the date of your request. As part of this process, the reviewer may need to consult with the responding officer and the team(s) that provided the information originally
• the reviewer will make a decision about the validity of the exemptions applied, and whether the Authority has complied with its statutory duties
• the reviewer will let the requester know, in writing, the outcome of the review, giving a full explanation 

Possible outcomes of the internal review process and action that will be taken

• An apology will be provided
• Appropriate steps will be taken to prevent similar errors occurring in the future
• Any recommendations for improving our internal processes to prevent a future occurrence will be shared with the appropriate services

You will be notified of the decision and the reasons for this and informed about your right to appeal to the Information Commissioner. 

What you can do if you are not satisfied with our response

If your request for a review of our response, or handling of this, is not resolved to your satisfaction, you have the right of appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Before doing so, you must exhaust this Internal Review Process. The Information Commissioner’s Office can be contacted as follows: 

The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF 

www.ico.org.uk 

casework@ico.org.uk  

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Role of the Information Commissioner 

After an initial assessment of the complaint the Information Commissioner may attempt to settle the matter informally by contacting both parties to provide his views on how the dispute can be resolved without going through the full appeal process.

If the Information Commissioner elects to undertake a full investigation he can decide either that the Authority has complied with the Act or that further action is necessary to comply. The nature of this action (e.g. to provide information previously withheld) will be set out in a Decision Notice or an Enforcement Notice. These notices are binding on the public authority although you and the Authority can appeal the Information Commissioner’s decision to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) and thereafter, on a point of law only, to the Upper Tribunal.

If the Information Commissioner upholds a complaint and decides that the Authority must disclose information a Decision Notice will be issued and served on the complainant and the Authority. This will specify the information that must be disclosed and the time period for doing so.

If the Authority receives a Decision Notice that over-rules previous action taken by the Authority (e.g. to withhold information), we may either comply or we can appeal to the First Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). 

Every individual has certain rights in relation to their own personal data and their privacy, and in relation to the information we keep about you.

Personal data is any information related to a living person, that could be used to directly or indirectly identify that person. A data subject is the living person that the personal data is about.

Subject Access Request

You have the right to access personal data we hold about you. This is called a subject access request. This could be electronic information in emails or databases, or paper information in files, records, or archives. You can only access your own personal data. If data about other people is included within your files, then it is likely that we may not provide you with this information.

When requesting information from the Authority you should provide your name, address, and telephone number. Also, please can you provide a full description of the information you require. If you can tell us dates and which service(s) you have had contact with at the Authority, it will help us locate your personal information quickly. 

If the information that you are seeking is held by one of the upper tier councils you must contact Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Council or Blackpool Council directly to make your request.

By law, the Authority must verify your identity before any personal information is disclosed. This is to ensure you only receive information to which you are entitled. If further evidence of your identity, address, legal status, or relationship to the data subject is required LCCA will contact you directly.

Any personal information you provide on the form will be held and processed by Lancashire County Combined Authority for the purpose of administering and responding to your request. This information will be held securely and will not be disclosed to other parties, without your permission. The information which you provide will be destroyed in a secure manner when the retention period has expired. 

How to make a request

You can complete the online subject access request form

Or you can write to: County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire PR1 8XJ

You will also need to send copies of documents that prove your identity and address, so that we can be certain that only you have access to your personal data. 

What kind of identification do I need to provide?

For proof of identity and address, you will need to provide a copy of two documents, one from section A and one from section B. 

You are advised to only send copies of these documents to us, and not the originals. Please post or email copies of these documents: 

Section A - Primary trusted documents 

• current and valid passport
• current and valid driving licence photocard (full or provisional)
• birth certificate
• marriage / civil partnership certificate
• HM Forces identity card

Section B - Secondary trusted documents 

• mortgage statement – issued last 12 months
• bank or building society statement – issued in the last three months
• bank or building society account opening confirmation letter – issued in the last three months
• credit card statement – issued in the last three months
• utility bill – issued in the last three months
• central or local government, government agency, or local council document giving entitlement, for example from the department for work and pensions, the employment service, HMRC – issued in the last three months

How long does it take? 

Once we have checked your identity, and we are certain of what your request is, then we will let you know as soon as possible. 

We then have up to 30 calendar days to respond to your request.

If your request is complex or very large, we may need a further 60 calendar days to deal with your request. We will write to you and let you know if this is the case. 

Can I complain if I am unhappy? 

If you are unhappy with the way in which your data has been handled or the way in which a data protection request has been answered, then you may complain to our Data Protection Officer or write to County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire PR1 8XJ.

If you are still unhappy with the response from our data protection officer, or if you would rather complain straight to a regulator, then you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates data protection and information governance matters in the UK. You can do this via the ICO’s website.

ICO helpline: 0303 123 1113.

You can find out more information about your data protection rights from the Information Commissioner’s Office