The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is fully committed to adopting an open and transparent approach to economic regulation of railway services. ORR believes that it is in the public interest to make information readily accessible and for it to be subject to public scrutiny. ORR supports the Government’s objectives in implementing the Freedom of Information Act 2000 that government departments are open and accessible to the public.
From 1 January 2005, the Act provides the public with a statutory right of access to information held by, or on behalf of, ORR. This section explains how to make a request to ORR. ORR makes a large volume of information available under its Publication Scheme. The Publication Scheme specifies the categories of information that ORR already publishes or intends to publish in the future and explains how to obtain that information.
The general right of access does not mean that ORR can disclose all information requested under the Act. The Act itself recognises that disclosure is not appropriate in all situations. Guidance in relation to the various exemptions is available from the Department for Constitutional Affairs website.
Where ORR obtains information as a result of its statutory functions, Section 145 of the Railways Act 1993 may prohibit ORR from disclosing this information without the consent of the person that provided it to ORR. Depending on the facts of a particular case, ORR will consider whether it is appropriate to seek a third party’s consent to disclosure of information covered by Section 145.
ORR will consider charging for complying with information requests on an individual basis in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
A request for information under the Act should be addressed to ORR’s Customer Correspondence Team. This Team can be contacted by:
(a) E-mail: contact.cct@orr.gsi.gov.uk
(b) Fax: 020 7282 2040
(c) Post: Office of Rail Regulation, One Kemble Street, LONDON WC2B 4AN
The Act requires that requests for information are made in writing and the Customer Correspondence Team can assist in cases where there are difficulties in making a written request. The Team can also be contacted via ORR’s switchboard on 020 7282 2000.
The Customer Correspondence Team will handle requests for information. If it decides that the requested information should not be disclosed, they will respond in writing explaining the reasons for that decision.
If the requested information is held by a third party on behalf of ORR or relates to other third parties, then ORR may need to consult with those third parties before it can establish whether the requested information can be disclosed. If an applicant does not want ORR to consult third parties, it should make this clear in a request for information.
If an applicant does not agree with ORR’s decision in relation to a request for information or has any other complaint in relation to ORR’s handling of a request, then a complaint can be made to ORR’s Directors’ Group (DG). DG will consider complaints and uphold or reverse ORR’s original decision. DG can be contacted through Shamus Kenny by:
(a) Email: shamus.kenny@orr.gsi.gov.uk
(b) Fax: 020 7282 2154
(c) Post: Office of Rail Regulation, One Kemble Street, LONDON WC2B 4AN
If, after appeal to ORR’s DG, an applicant is still dissatisfied with ORR’s decision an applicant may refer the matter to the Information Commissioner.
As ORR is a relatively small non-ministerial government department, there may be instances where its DG is involved in the original decision. If this is the case, ORR will waive its right to consider the complaint or appeal internally. ORR will inform an applicant where it is waiving its internal complaints procedure. An applicant could then appeal directly to the Information Commissioner. Full contact details for the Information Commissioner are provided on the Information Commissioner’s website.