Resolving problems
When things go wrong the ICO needs to resolve problems effectively and efficiently. We will work hard to speed up our response to freedom of information cases, working as efficiently as possible to achieve maximum productivity. We aim to be increasingly selective in our approach to handling data protection complaints, prioritising those cases of widest significance. Aiming to learn from cases, we will gather management information to identify common problems, frequently asked questions, problem areas and trends. We will use this information to prioritise our guidance production, inform our enforcement activities and to create relevant material for individuals and organisations. Where possible, we will also work with organisations to prevent problems occurring in the first place.
The ICO will:
- Provide worthwhile outcomes for justified complaints
- Prioritise to concentrate on cases of substance
- Use particular cases to highlight wider problems
- Use complaints as a source of intelligence to inform our education and enforcement activities
- Aim, where possible, to achieve results by co-operation rather than compulsion
Resolving problems - aim one:
To provide an efficient and valued customer service that deals with all information rights complaints and enquiries.
- Provide a national telephone helpline service for organisations and individuals asking about their responsibilities and rights, anticipating 100,000 calls each year, with the aim of answering over 90% of calls with an average waiting time of less than one minute.
- Provide a case reception service acknowledging receipt of 100% of complaints and enquiries within 14 calendar days of receipt.
Resolving problems - aim two:
To provide an efficient and valued freedom of information casework service, making decisions in disputes about access to information held by a public body in a robust, responsible and efficient way.
- Make the most efficient use of available resources to clear casework backlogs and to meet the service standards set out below:
| 2008/09 | Estimated number of complaints | Age of cases at closure | |||
| 30 days or less | 90 days or less | 180 days or less | 365 days or less | ||
| New cases anticipated: 2,600-2,700. Plus 1,350 cases carried forward from 2007/08 | 50% | 60% | 65% | 70% | |
These service standards reflect anticipated performance over 2008/09 as a whole and relate to all cases that we close, including
those in the backlog. They are based on projections made in January 2008 and on anticipated funding of £5.5m. During 2008/09
we expect to close a higher proportion of older cases and this is reflected in our targets. Based on current funding levels and current
levels of receipts we would expect to be able to achieve similar standards for 2009/10 and 2010/11. If we are successful in
recruiting secondee caseworkers during 2008/09 this will enable us to reduce our backlog and shorten the length of time it takes
to close a case. |
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- Produce consistent and widely-respected freedom of information outcomes.
- Continue to close at least 50% of these cases within the customer service team (the first port of call for the complainant).
- Continue to use early intervention and informal resolution to help resolve complaints, regularly reporting progress to those involved.
- Depending on the outcome of the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on the designation of some private and voluntary organisations as public authorities for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act, we will calculate the impact for the ICO.
Resolving problems - aim three:
To provide an efficient and valued data protection casework service.
- Resolve written data protection and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations enquiries and complaints within the following timescales:
| Estimated number of complaints and written enquiries | Age of cases at closure | ||||
| 30 days or less | 90 days or less | 180 days or less | |||
| 2008/09 | 26,000 – 29,000 | 50% | 95% | 99% | |
| 2009/10 | 26,000 – 29,000 | 50% | 95% | 99% | |
| 2010/11 | 26,000 – 29,000 | 50% | 95% | 99% | |
- The customer service team will aim to close at least 40% of all data protection cases within 30 calendar days (as reflected in the above figures); during 2008/09 the team will examine ways of increasing this percentage.
- Filter out complaints about the handling of personal information where there is no issue of substance, or where there does not appear to be any effective action we can take, and close these cases within 90 days of receipt.
- Ensure that the casework teams use their sectoral expertise to identify and deal with complaints that raise issues of substance and where we can make a difference.
Resolving problems - aim four:
To run an efficient and helpful notification advice service.
- Handle at least 60,000 telephone and 15,000 written enquiries relating to notifications each year. Answer 92% of calls with an average waiting time of less than 45 seconds.
Resolving problems - aim five:
To increase customer satisfaction (as measured by our customer satisfaction survey).
- Improve web navigation, search and homepage facilities during 2008/09.
- Produce web content targeted at specific sectors and information on rights in familiar consumer situations, with a programme to be planned during 2008/09.
- Implement training in plain writing skills so our customer communications are clearer and easier to understand, with the first training sessions to be run during 2008/09.
- Continue to explore the benefits of further integrating freedom of information and data protection complaint handling into combined sector-facing teams where this would lead to greater efficiency and customer satisfaction.
- Continue to improve the two key drivers of customer satisfaction by taking measures to improve our speed of response and customer information.
- During 2008/09 finalise the implementation of a quality framework to ensure that the quality and consistency of casework continues to meet acceptable levels.