The National Forest

• Company Information

• Freedom of Information
• Publication Scheme
• Accessibility Commitment
• Service Standards

Service Standards

We aim to:

• Reply to all correspondence within 20 working days from the date received at the National Forest Company. If we cannot meet this deadline, we will inform you and explain why.
• Meet all visitors with an appointment at our offices within 10 minutes. If a visitor does not have an appointment, every effort will be made to deal with their enquiry as effectively as possible at that time.
• Answer telephone calls promptly and ensure that all enquiries are dealt with courteously and professionally.
• Provide clear and straightforward information about our services and put customers in touch with the appropriate organisations/individuals for more detailed information where appropriate.
• Do everything we can to make our services/information available to everyone including people with special needs.
• Respond to complaints within 20 working days.

Freedom of Information

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 you are entitled to a response to requests for information within 20 days. Under the terms of the Act you are entitled to an internal review of any decision about provision of information under that code and a response within 20 days. If you are unhappy with the result of the review, then you can ask an MP to contact the Parliamentary Ombudsman who has the power to investigate further.

The Act requires government Departments, agencies and public bodies within the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Ombudsman to provide access to official information, except where the disclosure of information would cause harm or prejudice, eg legal proceedings. Our Open Government Officer is:

Mike Dewsnap

+44 (0)1283 551211

Charging for information under Freedom of Information Act 2000

Seeking a fee for information provided will only be considered as a last resort for very difficult and unusual cases.

Government bodies are not permitted to benefit from any charges made for open government requests. Any receipts will be notified to Treasury via the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

If the NFC does decide that a charge should be made for providing information, the following action will be taken:

• NFC will provide the inquirer with a costed estimate of the proposed fee.
• If the cost is agreed with the inquirer, an invoice will be raised for the agreed fee.
• Any work necessary to provide the requested information will not be undertaken until the fee has been pais.

Payment of Bills

The NFC will pay all correctly documented and undisputed invoices from suppliers and partners within a maximum of 30 days from receipt of the invoice.

How to Comment or Complain About our Service

We will give a full explanation if we do not meet the service standards set out. If you are not satisfied with the service you receive, please:

• write or speak to the person you initially dealt with. If you are not satisfied with the reply,
• write to the Chief Executive. If you are still not satisfied,
• write to the Chairman at:

National Forest Company

Enterprise Glade, Bath Yard, Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE12 6BA

+44 (0)1283 551211

+44 (0)1283 552844

All complaints will be investigated promptly and confidentially and we will aim to reply with a full explanation within 20 working days. If we are unable to fully investigate the complaint within this period, we will let you know when you can expect to be notified about the outcome.

If the complaint was found to be justified, we will apologise and explain what went wrong and what we will do to ensure that it does not happen again. If a complaint was found not to be justified, we will explain why.

Your views and any suggestions for improving our services are welcome. All comments received will be recorded and drawn to the attention of the relevant personnel to see how we can learn from them.

Commenting through the Website

If you have any comments, complaints or suggestions, you may make them via the website using our contact us form. Alternatively you can contact us:

National Forest Company, Enterprise Glade, Bath Yard, Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE12 6BA

+44 (0)1283 551211

+44 (0)1283 552844