Information Charter
We need to handle personal information about you so that we can
provide services to you. This sets out how we look
after that information.
When we ask you for personal information, we promise:
- to make sure you know why we need it;
- to only ask for what we need, and not to collect too much or
irrelevant information;
- to protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who should
not;
- to let you know if we share it with other organisations to give
you better public services - and if you can say no;
- to make sure we don’t keep it longer than necessary and;
- not to make your personal information available for commercial
use without your permission.
In return, we ask you to:
- give us accurate information and;
- tell us as soon as possible if there are any changes, such as a
new address.
This helps us to keep your information reliable and up to
date.
You can get more details on:
- how to find out what information we hold about you and how to
ask us to correct any mistakes;
- agreements we have with other organisations for sharing
information;
- circumstances where we can pass on your personal information
without telling you,for example, to prevent and detect crime or to
produce anonymised statistics;
- our instructions to staff on how to collect, use and delete
your personal information;
- how we check the information we hold is accurate and up to date
and;
- how to make a complaint.
For more information please contact:
Chief Information Officer
Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation
Gateway House
Stonehouse Lane
Purfleet
Essex
RM19 1NX
When we ask you for information we will keep to the law,
including the Data Protection Act 1998. For independent advice
about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can
contact the Information Commissioner at:
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF.
Phone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45
Fax: 01625 524510.
Complaints
Procedure
Our Commitment
We are committed to providing the highest standards of service
to everyone we deal with. We welcome complaints as well as feedback
and suggestions for improvement as they help us to review our
service performance and identify how we can make it better. We will
provide the highest standards of service to everyone we deal
with.
We aim to provide a complaints procedure that is:
- accessible;
- easy to use;
- fair to all parties;
- confidential;
- speedy and;
- efficient.
We will monitor and analyse complaints as part of our review of
service performance, and will regularly review the effectiveness of
our complaints procedure to ensure that it remains relevant,
credible and robust.
What is a complaint?
A complaint for the purposes of this procedure is one that
relates to:
Any expression of dissatisfaction with the service provided or
action carried out by a Corporation staff member, or person or body
acting on behalf of the Corporation and can be verbal or
written.
It does not include:
- Dissatisfaction with central government or those of the local
authority or other public bodies or the Corporation’s own policies
– which should be dealt with in normal correspondence.
- Third party dissatisfaction with a person or organisation
applying for Corporation funding for a contract.
- Dissatisfaction about Board Members - the Corporation has a
separate Code of Conduct for Board Members
- Complaints that are currently the subject of legal
proceeding.
An individual complaining about a local partnership
should be referred to the local partnership. If the individual
is dissatisfied with the outcome, they should be advised to refer
it to the accountable body. The Corporation will only get involved
as a last resort, on very serious complaints or
allegations, with a view to assisting both parties resolve
the complaint: Where the individual is unhappy with the outcome of
their complaint to the accountable body. Helpful information should
be given to the individual.
Making a complaint
Stage Informal
If you have a complaint about our services you should in the
first instance contact the Corporation member of staff with whom
you have been dealing with, or the person responsible for the
project. We can usually resolve complaints in this way.
You can telephone, fax, post, or email your complaint. If you
want to, you may ask a friend or relative to make a complaint on
your behalf, or you may ask a voluntary or community group to take
up your complaint with us.
Stage Formal
If it is not appropriate for you to contact the staff member
directly as referred to in stage 1, or you are not satisfied with
the stage 1 response, you should write or speak to the Director of
Resources at the address below, who will refer the complaint for
investigation to a Director responsible for that service or staff
member.
Stage Chief Executive Review
If you are still dissatisfied with the response, you may refer
your concern to the Chief Executive by writing to the address
below.
Response Time
We will acknowledge your complaint within five working
days. We will provide a full response within 20 working days of
receipt, unless further investigation is required. In which case we
will advise you of the reasons for a delay and provide an
alternative timescale for a full response.
Content of response
When we respond we will make sure that we offer a full
explanation, an apology where appropriate, and assurances for the
future. We will also let you have details of the action we will
take or will offer as a result of your complaint.
At each stage of our response we will include a satisfaction
feedback form, which asks if you are satisfied with the handling of
your complaint and our response. We also ask you to provide
information about your gender, ethnicity, age and disability
status. The reason we ask for this information is so that we can
monitor whether any group is disadvantaged by the way we provide
our services or handle complaints.
Confidentially
All complaints are treated as confidential. This means your
identity will only be revealed to members of staff who are dealing
with your complaint, unless you have made allegations about third
parties in your complaint, or the law requires us to identify you
in accordance with the principles of Natural Justice. The
information you provide will not be published or revealed to anyone
outside the Corporation in a manner that could identify you as
the subject of the information.
Publication
We will publish on our website information about complaints that
we receive, our performance in meeting our response targets and
what action we have taken to improve our services. The publication
of all information will be in accordance with the Data Protection
Act 1998 and will not be published in a way that could disclose you
as the person making the complaint or any person directly
concerned with the complaint.
What to do if you are not satisfied with our
response
If having followed the 3-stage procedure above, you feel
that:
- you have been caused ‘injustice’ as a result of
maladministration by the Corporation or;
- you are not satisfied with the Corporation’s response.
You can complain to the our sponsoring department, Communities
and Local Government. See below for the Communities and Local
Government’s address.
We welcome any feedback or complaints about our service. Any
comments you have should be directed to:
Chief Information Officer
Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation
Gateway House
Stonehouse Lane
Purfleet
Essex
RM19 1NX
If you remain unhappy after a stage two response,
you may refer your concern to:
Chief Executive
Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation
Gateway House
Stonehouse Lane
Purfleet
Essex
RM19 1NX
If you still remain unhappy, or feel you have suffered an
injustice as a result of lack of care, judgement or
honesty (maladministration) with your complaint, you
may contact:
Communities and Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
This guidance provides general information only. Whilst every
effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate, it
is not a full and authoritative statement of the law and you should
not rely upon it as such. The Thurrock Thames Gateway Development
Corporation cannot accept responsibility for any errors or
omissions as a result of negligence or otherwise.
Contact us