1. An optional appeal made be lodged with the Council on Transparency and Good Governance regarding any express or presumed decision regarding access, prior to its being challenged in an Administrative Court. 2. The appeal shall be lodged within one month after the day following that of notification of the decision to be appealed, or the day following that on which the effects of failure to respond begin. 3. The appeals procedure shall follow the provisions on appeals in Act 30/1992, of 26 November, on the Legal System of the Public Administrations and Common Administrative Procedure. Before a decision is made on the appeal, when denial to access information is based on the protection of the rights or interests of third parties, a hearing shall be offered to those persons who could be affected in order for them to present arguments favouring their case. 4. The maximum period to hand down a decision and provide notification thereof shall be three months, after which the appeal shall be considered dismissed. 5. The decisions of the Council on Transparency and Good Governance shall be made public, omitting any personal data they may contain, by electronic means and under the terms established in the regulations, once the interested parties have been notified. The Chair of the Council on Transparency and Good Governance shall inform the National Ombudsman of the decisions made in application of this Article. 6. The Council on Transparency and Good Governance is responsible for addressing these appeals, except for those cases in which a given Autonomous Community attributes said responsibility to a specific body, in accordance with Additional Provision 4 of this Act. TITLE II Good Governance Article 25. Scope of application. 1. Within the scope of the Central State Administration, the provisions of this Title shall be applied to members of the Government, to Secretaries of State and other senior officials of the Central State Administration and public- or private-law entities of the central public sector, either linked to or reporting to the Central State Administration. To this end, senior officials shall be considered those who hold this status in application of the regulations on conflicts of interest. 2. This Title shall be applied to senior officials or equivalent office-holders who, pursuant to the applicable regulations of the Autonomous Community or Local Entity, are considered as such, including the members of Governing Councils of Local Entities. 20