Appealing for twins

[mitasol]

You need to make the request under the Data Protection Act.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/11plus ... ers.php#d4

D4. The Clerk’s Notes

Before making a complaint, it is worth seeing whether you can get hold of a copy of the clerk’s notes. These are not meant to be a verbatim record of the appeal, but they should include all the important points. The advantage in having sight of the notes is that you may discover things that strengthen your complaint.

Write to whoever organised the appeal, stating that you wish to request a copy of the clerk’s notes under the data protection act, and include payment of the appropriate fee, which is usually £10 (the maximum permitted). It has to be done in exactly this way (but you could make preliminary contact to check whether they will comply and what the fee will be).

[Etienne]

Mitasol is quite right. I don't know if you quoted Freedom of Information when you made your request, or if the appeals administrator is just being as unhelpful as possible!

Be warned that some authorities will still try to refuse access under the Data Protection Act. (Several forum members have been pursuing this matter with the Information Commissioner.) Authorities do need a legal justification for refusing under the DPA, but more often than not they seem not to have one - it's just a knee-jerk reaction on their part!

[Looking for help]

rainbowmum,
Our clerk has refused to give us access to her notes - but the LGO will request them as part of their investigation if the clerk refuses.
However weeks and weeks later we are still waiting and tomorrow we will have to buy the unioform for the other school......

Best of luck

LFH

[rainbow mum]

Dear Mitasol,

I did make the request on the data protection act and enclosed 10 pounds. I did not quote the freedom of information. Should I send in another letter and quote that or should I press ahead and make my complaint to the LGO?

LFH, I know how you feel about the uniform, i have purchased some of the my sons things. It's the uncertainty thats is the hardest thing to cope with.


Rainbow Mum

[Looking for help]

My understanding is that you can request the notes under the data protection act, but the clerk can still refuse. That is as far as we got, and then made the conmplaint to the LGO about her mishandling the whole situation AND then refusing to submit the notes. But hopefully eventually we will get to see them once the LGO comes back to us.
We have also complained to the Information Commissioner, but I think this is a red herring in terms of getting a re-appeal, merely a complaint that we have asked for information under the data protection act but failed to get it - it containing details about our child which we are entitled to know about under this act.
I don't think the freedom of information act comes into it, really and I think they have said you are not entitled to it under this act - we got a similar message, I think.

Anyhow, a friend of mine had her appeal result the other day, not upheld, requested the clerk's notes and got them the next day. Why do some clerks give them and others not ?
LFH

[Parent1965]

We have recieved a letter saying " according to the code of appeals, the notes of the proceedings of the panel are not subject to the freedom of information act 2000 and there is no obligation for the schools to comply with a request for the copies of the notes". )

Is the reference to schools correct ? - aren't the panels independent of the schools - probably just me being a bit stupid.

By the way dd got 100% in her maths SATs guess that counts as a fairly high 5 - still shame we didn't win the appeal (overall 5's in other subjects but don't know what sublevel).

[Etienne]

Technically I would have thought you ought to be right and that requests should always be made to the appeals administrator!

However, I can see that there could be practical difficulties regarding the storage of notes where own-admission authority schools are concerned. The appeals administrator or clerk may have to work part-time from an office at the school.

The Code states:

The notes of the proceedings of appeal panels are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Where the notes are held for administrative purposes by an admission authority which is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (for example, where a local authority’s legal department retains the notes on file, or the notes are retained in a school office) there is no obligation for the admission authority to comply with a request for copies of the notes. In this situation, either:
a) the admission authority will hold notes on behalf of the panel, in which case the notes will not be held by the authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act; or
b) the notes will fall within the exemption applying to court or tribunal records.

When it comes to the Data Protection Act - which is what really matters here - there's no reference to the admission authority:

Where a request has been made under the Data Protection Act 1998 for access to personal data contained in the records of proceedings, whether that data should be disclosed will depend on a number of factors including: the identity of the person making the request; the nature and individual circumstances of the appeal; the way in which the data are held; and the interests of any third parties identified in the data. Appeal panels or clerks may therefore wish to obtain their own legal advice before responding to such a request.

[mitasol]

Sorry Rainbow mum,

I thought because they quoted F.O.I. you had made a request under F.O.I.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints.aspx

You could try the I.C.O. help line.