SUMMARY COVER SHEET – COMPLAINTS

DEVON & SOMERSET Corporate Planning

FIRE & RESCUE Service Policy

SERVICE Document

________________________________________________

Summary of Main Changes:

This policy is a revision of the Devon Complaints Policy (Complaints Procedure, 1999)

previously in force. It clarifies definitions and scope, and, with the Complaints Procedure,

updates the process to be followed. As part of the development process, drafts have been

sent to the Assistant Local Government Ombudsman and Authority Solicitor and amended

in line with their suggestions.

Informal complaints do not need to be reported to the Complaints Officer, but any formal

complaint should be sent or referred to the Complaints Officer in the first instance.

Formal complaints received by members of staff other than the Complaints Officer

should be sent to the Complaints Officer only, directly and immediately to ensure that

the process is co-ordinated appropriately, in a timely, consistent and professional

manner from the start.

The ES34 form has been updated and replaces all previous versions of the form.

Out of hours complaints no longer exist: all complaints should follow the standard

procedure with details of the complainant and the complaint added to an ES34 and sent

to the Complaints Officer for action.

The outcomes of complaints investigations, Investigating Officers proposed corrective

actions, and points for wider communication should be signed off by the Group

Commander or Head of Department / Section that appointed them before the

complainant is informed of the outcome of the investigation.

Details of upheld complaints against individual members of staff will always be recorded

on their PR files.

Appeal requests must include clear and compelling reasons that relate to the

investigation, the outcome of the investigation or the actions recommended as a result

of the investigation.

Those pursuing ‘unreasonable complaints’, ‘unrealistic outcomes’ or ‘reasonable

complaints in an unreasonable manner’ (vexatious or habitual complainants) may be

barred from the Complaints Procedure at the discretion of the Complaints Officer.

Complaints Policy

Page 1

DEVON & SOMERSET Corporate Planning

FIRE & RESCUE Service Policy

SERVICE Document

Document Purpose:

This document is the primary reference point for all complaints made against the Service,

though where the type of complaint made is specifically covered by another policy, that

policy will take precedence over the Complaints Policy and the associated procedure.

NB: If you are reading a paper copy of this document it may not be the most up to

date version. For the latest version view the information on the Service

Intranet.

NB: This document replaces the following Devon SID/s: Complaints Procedure, 1999

and Somerset SIS document/s: Complaints and Letters of Appreciation, 2006. It

also supersedes the Interim Complaints and Compliments Process, 2007.

Document Status:

Ownership: Corporate Planning Manager, Corporate Planning

Date first Published: July 2015

Review Date: July 2018

Last Review or Amendment: April 2017

Key Consultees: Control

Group Support Teams

Reception Staff

PAs

Corporate Comms

Information Assurance

Heads of Department / Section Heads

Group Commanders

Owners of Associated Policies (see Cross

References)

(Please Note – All SPDs will routinely be circulated

to Rep bodies and reps from AMs, GMs, H&S, HR,

the Academy and Ops for consultation).

Further Information:

Corporate Planning Manager, Corporate Planning

Consultation and Planning Officer, Corporate Planning

Planning and Consultation Officer, Corporate Planning

Complaints Policy

Page 2

Cross-References:

Existing internal complaints documents:

DFRS Complaints Procedure (1999 (Reviewed 2004))

SFRS Complaints and Letters of Appreciation (2006)

DSFRS Interim Complaints and Compliments Process (2007)

Internal reference documents, associated policies, documents and legislation:

DSFRS Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy (2010)

DSFRS Disciplinary Policy (2010)

DSFRS Data Protection Act 1998 Policy (2010)

DSFRS Freedom of Information Act 2000 Policy (2008)

DSFRS Grievance Policy (2011)

DSFRS Investigation and Suspension Guidance (2012)

DSFRS “Whistleblowing” Code (Confidential Reporting Policy) (2009)

DSFRA Members’ Code of Conduct (2007)

Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (Section 44)

Complaints Policy

Page 3

POLICY STATEMENT

The Service will receive and investigate complaints from external stakeholders in a timely,

consistent and professional manner. It will also use the receipt of complaints as an

opportunity to identify improvements to areas in which it has not met expected standards.

COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

The Service will not unlawfully discriminate against any persons in the application of this

policy or any subordinate procedures and will use any opportunities it presents to further our

positive duties under the Public Sector Equality Duty 2011.

To this end, this policy has undergone an Equality Risks and Benefits Assessment (ERBA)

which can be viewed here. The ERBA is due for review at the same time as the policy.

This policy is OPEN under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Complaints Policy

Page 4

KEY INFORMATION

A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, a negative remark or an expression of

negative opinion made about the Service to a member of the Service in a way that requires

a response and resolution.

Formal complaints are those which are complex or serious, which might, if substantiated,

result in disciplinary action or which contain the potential for dispute between the Service

and the complainant over whether or not the Service is at fault or might reasonably have

acted differently. They cannot reasonably be classified or dealt with as ‘informal complaints’.

Informal complaints are those which do not fall under the definition of a formal complaint

and which can legitimately be resolved at an appropriate level without formal investigation.

Solutions to informal complaints should be straightforward, simple, and quickly meet the

needs of those raising their concerns.

The Service will not investigate police matters but will refer complainants to the Police.

Complaints alleging the abuse of children, young people or vulnerable adults will be

referred to the Safeguarding Lead in Community Safety for processing and referral to the

Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for investigation. Complaints against Members

of the Fire and Rescue Authority will be referred to Democratic Services for action.

Complaints about damage will be referred to Risk and Insurance for investigation as part of

an insurance claim. Complaints made by members of staff will be dealt with under HR’s

grievance procedure or the ‘whistleblowing’ code.

Complaints which relate to civil matters, and complaints made about events or actions that

are more than twelve months old, will not usually be investigated.

All complaints, and actions undertaken as part of a complaints investigation, will be

recorded on an ES34. Data relating to a complainant, the subject (individual) or details of a

complaint are confidential. Releasing these details may result in disciplinary action. The

Service is under no obligation to investigate anonymous complaints.

The possible outcomes for complaints are ‘upheld’ or ‘dismissed’, they can also be

recorded as ‘unable to progress’ or ‘complaint dropped’ where appropriate. Investigating

Officers may, regardless of the outcome, recommend proportionate corrective action and

should seek to identify any potential for Service-wide communication or ideas for potential

improvements that might result from the process. Details of ‘upheld’ complaints, against

named members of staff, will be added to their PR files in all cases.

Complaints investigations should be completed, and the complainant made aware of the

outcome, within fourteen calendar days of the Service’s receiving the complaint.

Complainants dissatisfied with the investigation, its outcome, or the actions recommended

may appeal to the CFO. Those dissatisfied with the outcome of the CFO’s review may

lodge subsequent complaints with either the Local Government Ombudsman or their MP.

Vexatious or habitual complainants may be barred from the Complaints Procedure, at

the discretion of the Complaints Officer, for periods of six or twelve months at a time.

Complaints Policy

Complaints Policy

Complaints Policy

Page 7

CONTENTS

Section Title Page

- Summary of main changes 0

- Document purpose 1

- Document status 1

- Further information 1

- Cross references 2

- Policy statement 3

- Compliance statement 3

- Key information 4

- Complaints process flowchart 5

- Contents 7

1 Introduction 8

2 Legislation and guidance documents 8

3 Scope 8

3.1 Complaints within the scope of this policy 9

3.2 Out of scope complaints 10

4 Recording complaints and confidentiality 12

5 Anonymous complaints 12

6 Key timescales 13

7 Results of the investigations 14

8 Appeals 15

8.1 Stage 1 (Internal) - CFO 16

8.2 Stage 2 (External) – LGO / MP 16

9 Vexatious or habitual complainants 17

9.1 Stage 1 – Contact only via Complaints Officer 17

9.2 Stage 2 – Exclusion from the complaints process 17

10 Reporting 18

11 Information security 18

11.1 Data Protection Act 1998 18

11.2 Freedom of Information Act 2000 18

Complaints Policy

Page 8

1. INTRODUCTION

Complaints about the Service should be seen as a way of engaging with

stakeholders and an opportunity to improve, rather than solely as a criticism of

the Service and its work.

As such they should be dealt with properly, in a standard way, to make sure that

the lessons learned from every complaint are used to prevent similar incidents

from happening in the future.

In line with the Service’s commitment to equality and minimising disadvantage,

additional support will be offered, when required, to those who face particular

barriers to making complaints.

2. LEGISLATION AND GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS

Local Government Ombudsman – Guidance on Running a Complaints System

(2009)

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman – Principles of Good Complaint

Handling (2009)

The Cabinet Office – Complaints Policy and Procedure (accessed May 2014)

Local Government Association – Complaints Policy (2013)

3. SCOPE

For the purposes of this policy, a complaint is:

An expression of dissatisfaction, a negative remark or an expression of

negative opinion made about the Service to a member of the Service in a

way that requires response and resolution.

‘The Service’ is deemed to refer to and include:

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority (DSFRA)

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS)

services provided by DSFRS

those employed by DSFRS.

While any internal or external stakeholder may raise a complaint, not all

complaints will fall within the scope of this policy. The following sections define

the types of complaint that the Service can, cannot and will not consider.

Complaints Policy

Page 9

3.1. Complaints within the scope of this policy

3.1.1. Informal Complaints

Informal complaints are those which do not fall under the definition of a

formal complaint, and which can legitimately be resolved at an appropriate

level without formal investigation.

The solutions to informal complaints should be:

straightforward

simple, and

quickly meet the needs of those raising their concerns.

Complaints that have fallen into this category previously include those received

about station lights being left on at night, which were settled by fitting motion

sensors to external lights, and others about the level of the DSFRS portion of

the Council Tax, which were sent to the Director of Finance for a written

response that explained the decisions made.

If a complainant asks for a formal investigation into a matter that could

reasonably be dealt with informally, DSFRS will commission an investigation

under the formal complaints procedure. A complainant may not, however,

request that serious complaints, which should reasonably be investigated

formally, be investigated informally.

Those receiving, processing or investigating formal complaints as informal

complaints, whether at the request of the complainant or not, in order to

circumvent the proper process either for personal benefit or the benefit of

another, at the expense of the complainant or the impartiality of the

investigation, may be subject to disciplinary action.

3.1.2. Formal Complaints

Formal complaints are those which are complex or serious, which might, if

substantiated, result in disciplinary action, or which contain the potential

for dispute between the Service and the complainant over whether or not

the Service is at fault or might reasonably have acted differently. They

cannot reasonably be classified or dealt with as ‘informal complaints’.

For example, the Service receives driving complaints about Firefighters

responding to station in their own vehicles; the way in which DSFRS vehicles

are driven to incidents; the way marked vehicles are driven; and the way private

vehicles are driven by members of staff in uniform.

In any of these examples, as with any formal complaint, it would not be

reasonable to automatically assume that the complainant’s allegations are either

Complaints Policy

Page 10

correct or incorrect, nor could there be a straightforward, simple or quick

solution to the problems raised by the complainant to resolve their concerns.

All such complaints must be investigated impartially to prove or disprove the

complainant’s allegations, or to find an appropriate action to resolve the

problem.

3.2. Out of scope complaints

Not all complaints fall within the scope of this policy: some will more properly fall

under other policies, meaning that they will be considered and investigated

according to the content of those policies. Some complaints will not be

investigated at all because it would be inappropriate for the Service to do so.

Cannot Investigate

3.2.1. Police matters

DSFRS cannot investigate complaints about criminal activity. Allegations of this

sort will be treated as ‘Police matters’ and complainants will be advised to

contact the Police. Those making complaints about actions that break the law

but which are customarily dealt with by authorities other than the Police, will be

referred to the appropriate body.

Where complainants have been advised that they should contact the Police, or

any other organisation, but inform us that they will not follow this advice, the

Complaints Officer will assess the nature of the complaint against the normal

complaints criteria and, in discussion with HR and the local Group Commander

or Head or Department / Section, decide whether or not to progress with the

normal complaints investigation procedure.

3.2.2. Abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults

Allegations of abuse against a child, young person or vulnerable adult will

immediately be referred to the Safeguarding Lead in Community Safety for

processing and referral to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for

investigation in line with the Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults

Safeguarding Policy.

3.2.3. Complaints about damage

Complaints made about damage caused by the Service while in the pursuit of its

business, will be referred to the Risk and Insurance Department. Claims will be

assessed against Section 44 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, and

investigated as part of an insurance claim where appropriate.

Complaints Policy

Page 11

3.2.4. Complaints about Members of the Fire and Rescue Authority

Complaints against Members of the DSFRA, about actions which breach the

Members’ Code of Conduct, will be referred to Democratic Services for

appropriate action.

3.2.5. Complaints made by members of the Service

Complaints made by members of staff against the Authority or the Service, or

about either the Service’s services or another member of staff, will be referred to

the Grievance Procedure managed by the Human Resources Department (HR).

(Grievance Policy)

Alternatively, members of staff will be directed to the ‘Whistleblowing Code’

(Confidential Reporting Policy) if this is felt, through discussion, to be more

appropriate.

Will not investigate

3.2.6. Civil matters

DSFRS will not investigate the actions of members of staff unless they were:

on duty

travelling either to an incident or station having been paged or otherwise

asked by the Service to attend

in uniform or wearing identification

using Service equipment for private purposes.

The only exception to this is when a complaint is about behaviour that can

reasonably be considered infamous or disgraceful, which undermines public

trust in the Service or that would reasonably undermine trust in the Service if all

facts were made public.

3.2.7. Twelve month limit

Complaints made about events or actions that are more than twelve months old

will not usually be investigated unless the complainant can demonstrate,

appropriately, that they have known about the events or actions for less than

twelve months.

The only exception to this may be when a complaint is about behaviour that can

reasonably be considered infamous or disgraceful, which undermines public

trust in the Service, or that would reasonably undermine trust in the Service if all

facts were made public.

Complaints Policy

Page 12

4. RECORDING COMPLAINTS AND CONFIDENTIALITY

4.1. Where the details of a formal complaint are taken by any member of staff other

than the Complaints Officer, the details should always go only, directly and

immediately from the person receiving the details to the Complaints Officer. This

will help to ensure that the process is co-ordinated appropriately: in a timely,

consistent and professional manner from the start.

4.2. The ES34 complaints form (click here) will be used by those receiving

complaints to record details of the complaint, and subsequently by the

Investigating Officer to record the actions taken and conclusions reached as part

of their investigations. Copies of ES34s and all other documents pertaining to

complaint investigations will be kept on file by the Complaints Officer.

4.3. Nobody associated with the receipt, processing or investigation of a complaint

may release or reveal any details of the complainant to either the subject of the

complaint, or to any party not directly connected with the complaint

investigation, at any time. Making these or any other details of the complaint

itself available, either directly or indirectly, may result in disciplinary action.

4.4. Details relating to complaints may only be released as a result of requests for

information or personal data made and processed according to the Service’s

Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Data Protection Act 1998 policies.

4.5. Along with information about the action taken by the Complaints Officer, only

outline details of complaints that do not fall within the limits of this policy will be

kept in the complaints files.

4.6. Complainant’s details, whether provided at the time the complaint is made or

received on a completed Equality Monitoring form, will be kept in the complaints

files in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Nobody other than the

Complaints Officer will have unrestricted access to the complaints files or their

contents.

5. ANONYMOUS COMPLAINTS

5.1. Anonymous complaints are those made either in person, by email, or over the

telephone by people who refuse to give their details, or when a complaint is

made through the post by somebody who does not provide either their name or

any way of contacting them in the future.

5.2. The Service is under no obligation to investigate anonymous complaints,

though, when they are received, the Complaints Officer will assess the

information available and the nature of the complaint against the normal

complaints criteria and, in discussion with HR and the local Group Commander

Complaints Policy

Page 13

or Head of Department / Section, decide whether or not to progress with the

normal complaints investigation procedure.

5.3. No feedback on the outcome of an investigation will be given to complainants

requesting either partial or total anonymity.

6. KEY TIMESCALES

6.1. Complainants should receive details of the outcome of the investigation into

their complaint within fourteen calendar days of the Service receiving the

complaint. The following paragraphs describe the actions that are expected

within this timeframe.

6.2. Complaint receipt, and the start of the fourteen day period

Complaints are deemed to have been received when first contact is made by the

complainant with any member of the Service, though where members of staff do

not take details of the complaint themselves, and instead refer complainants

straight to the Complaints Officer, receipt will be considered to be the date that

full details of the complaint are received by the Complaints Officer.

6.3. First five days

Within five calendar days of receipt, the Complaints Officer will formally

acknowledge receipt of the complaint, and an appropriate officer to investigate

the complaint (the Investigating Officer) will be appointed by the appropriate

Group Commander or Head of Department / Section.

6.4. Within fourteen days

Within fourteen calendar days of receipt, the complaint investigation will be

completed and signed off by the appropriate Group Commander or Head of

Department / Section, and a formal notification of the outcome of the

investigation and the proposed corrective action(s) will have been sent to the

Complainant.

Where an investigation cannot be completed within this timescale, the

Investigating Officer will contact the complainant to explain the reasons why.

6.5. Priority

Investigating Officers should endeavour to meet the fourteen calendar day

completion target set for complaints investigations, and, as a result, work

relating to the complaint investigation should be given priority over other work.

Investigating Officers who find that they are unable to complete their

investigation within fourteen days, perhaps due to complexity, the availability of

Complaints Policy

Page 14

witnesses or the availability of an investigating officer with specialist knowledge

or experience for example, should give the complainant an explanation and

continue to keep them informed of progress until the investigation has been

completed.

Investigations into dropped complaints

6.6. During the course of an investigation a complainant may drop their complaint at

any time. Complaints that are withdrawn by complainants may still be

investigated by the Service, where it is felt to be appropriate, under the

provisions made for anonymous complaints.

7. RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION

7.1. Outcome classification

There are four possible outcomes to a complaint.

A complaint may be ‘upheld’ if the allegations made are deemed to have

foundation by the Investigating Officer

A complaint may be ‘dismissed’ if it does not have foundation

Where a conclusion cannot be reached, because of a lack of evidence,

complaints may be recorded as ‘unable to progress’

where the complainant withdraws their complaint it may be listed as

‘complaint dropped’ (unless an investigation is continued under the

auspices of an anonymous complaint).

7.2. Corrective actions, communications and Improvement Process (IP)

Regardless of the outcome classification, the Investigating Officer may or may

not feel it appropriate to recommend corrective action. Corrective action should

be proportionate and may fall into any of the following categories, though the list

below is not exhaustive.

Referred individual(s) for disciplinary action

Reminded individual(s) of relevant DSFRS policy

Reminded individual(s) of responsibility

Suspended individual(s)

Training / development requirement identified for individual(s)

Training / development requirement identified for the Service*

Verbal warning given to individual(s)

Written warning given to individual(s)

Complaints Policy

Page 15

* Systematic failings or issues highlighted by the investigation should

be recorded as a ‘training / development requirement identified for

the Service’.

The Investigating Officer should refer matters falling into this

category to their Area Commander or Service Leadership Team

(SLT) Lead, via their Group Commander or Head of Department /

Section, for action across the Service or the affected area (Group /

Section / Area / Department).

The Investigating Officer, Group Commander or Head of Department / Section

should, in reaching or reviewing a conclusion, identify any potential for Service-

wide communications, or ideas for changes that could be made to the Service,

which would help to prevent similar complaints being made in the future.

Corrective actions, proposed communications and submissions to the

Improvement Process should be commenced or submitted by a nominated

officer within seven days of the date on the formal notification letter sent to the

complainant.

7.3. Recording of complaints and their outcomes

Following investigations, records of complaints that are ‘dismissed’ will only be

held in the complaints files. Details of ‘upheld’ complaints will also be added to

individual’s PR files.

Records of complaints that are ‘dropped’ or ‘unable to progress’ will be held in

the complaints files and may also be recorded on an individual’s PR file,

following discussion with HR and the relevant Group Commander or Head of

Department / Section, where appropriate.

8. APPEALS

The complainant may lodge an appeal if they are dissatisfied with:

the investigation

the outcome of the investigation

the actions recommended as a result of the investigation.

All appeals should include clear and compelling reasons, focused on one or

more of the three areas above, clarifying why the complainant desires a review.

Appeals made by those members of staff subject to complaint investigations will

be dealt with under the Grievance Procedure.

There are two stages to the external complainant’s appeals process:

Complaints Policy

Page 16

8.1. Stage 1 (Internal) - CFO

Any appeal to the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) for a review of the complaints

investigation, outcome or recommendations should be received by the

Complaints Officer within 28 days of the date on the formal outcome

notification sent to the complainant by the Investigating Officer.

The CFO has the right to refuse any request for appeal, though reasons for this

refusal should be provided to the appellant.

Decisions made as a result of Stage 1 Appeals, which will be made and

communicated to the complainant within 28 days of receipt, cannot be reviewed

internally. Complainants unsatisfied with the outcome of a Stage 1 Appeal, or

with the refusal of their request, may refer the matter externally.

For the purposes of this policy, external reviews will be classified as Stage 2

Appeals.

8.2. Stage 2 (External) - LGO / MP

If the complainant is not happy with the outcome of the CFO’s review (Stage 1),

they may make a further complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman

(LGO) or refer the matter to their Member of Parliament (MP).

LGO: http://www.lgo.org.uk/making-a-complaint/

(Details of what can and cannot be looked at, and the LGO’s

complaints process)

MP: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/

(The ‘Find your MP’ service which can be used to find an MP’s

contact details)

The LGO considers complaints relating to the delivery or non-delivery of

services, or those relating to the way in which a decision has been made, as

long as they feel the complainant has suffered significant injustice and the

Service is unwilling to take satisfactory action to resolve the issue.

They cannot question what the Service has done simply because a complainant

does not agree with it, but if they find that something has gone wrong, which has

caused problems for the complainant, they can ask the Service to take action to

put the matter right.

If a complaint cannot be investigated by the LGO, a complainant may direct the

matter to their MP who would, where appropriate, raise it with either the Chief

Complaints Policy

Page 17

Fire Officer or the Minister responsible for Fire and Rescue Services within the

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

The Complaints Officer will provide details of the initial investigation and Stage 1

Appeal to suitable parties for their assessment if a complaint is either made to

the LGO or referred to a complainant’s MP.

DSFRS will provide any and all assistance to the LGO in their investigations and

consideration of the submitted complaint, and commits to undertaking any

corrective actions the LGO deems appropriate following the conclusion of their

enquiries.

9. VEXATIOUS OR HABITUAL COMPLAINANTS

Vexatious or habitual complainants are those who repeatedly or obsessively

pursue:

unreasonable complaints

unrealistic outcomes

reasonable complaints in an unreasonable manner.

The definition also extends to those who behave in an unreasonably aggressive,

abusive or offensive way.

9.1. Stage 1 - Contact only permitted through the Complaints Officer

Members of the Service dealing with complainants they consider to be

vexatious, habitual, aggressive, abusive or offensive should raise the matter

with the Complaints Officer who may then become the individual’s single

acceptable point of contact, for complaints against the Service, for a period of

six months.

Details of any further contact made by the individual, to the Complaints Officer,

will be recorded but will not automatically be investigated or given credence.

Investigation will only proceed, where appropriate, with the agreement of the

relevant Group Commander or Head of Department / Section.

9.2. Stage 2 - Exclusion from the complaints process

Those barred from making complaints to anybody other than the Complaints

Officer may subsequently be banned from the complaints procedure completely

if they either continue to act in an inappropriate way while dealing with the

Complaints Officer, or continue to try to make or discuss complaints through or

with members of the Service other than the Complaints Officer.

This exclusion will initially apply for a period of six months.

Complaints Policy

Page 18

Investigations into complaints raised by those barred from the complaints

procedure prior to the implementation of a full ban, should continue after the ban

under the provisions made for anonymous complaints: a ban will not invalidate

the legitimacy of a submitted complaint, though an inability to contact the

complainant to obtain additional information may make it impossible to complete

an investigation.

As with Stage 1, limitations only apply to the complaints procedure and do not

extend beyond it.

10. REPORTING

Statistics and analysis relating to complaints and, where possible, the

demographics of complainants will be reported in an appropriate way.

11. INFORMATION SECURITY

11.1. Data Protection Act 1998

The Service’s compliance with the Data Protection Act extends to its complaints

process. The Data Protection Act Policy includes information on how to make

requests for personal data.

DSFRS Data Protection Act 1998 Policy:

(http://portal/SIP/published/Published%20Policy%20Documents/Data%20Protec

tion%20Act%201998.pdf)

11.2. Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies to those wishing to see the

contents of complaints files that do not relate to them. The Service’s Freedom of

Information Act Policy provides details on how to go about making requests for

information.

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Policy:

(http://portal/SIP/published/Published%20Policy%20Documents/Freedom%20of

%20Information%20Act%202000.pdf)