15^th June 2009

Dear Ms Davis,

Re: Your request for information

Thank you for your email dated 8^th May 2009. As the information you requested is not personal or environmental it has been processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Initially, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the delay in responding to your request. Please be assured we are currently carrying out a thorough review of all our office procedures to minimise the possibility of any future delays.

I have investigated your request and am pleased to attach an excel document which addresses your questions. You asked for `owners' of the properties as part of this request. The person liable for rates for empty commercial properties is defined as the `person entitled to possession' and so the spreadsheet instead provides details of the current ratepayers, which I hope will satisfy the needs of your request. If you need details of the freeholders, please note that this would need to be obtained from the Land Registry.

As you asked for personal information about another person we are required by section 40(2) of this act to take into account the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998. In some cases, the ratepayer is a private individual rather than a business or company, and so in order to maintain the exemption I have removed their personal details from the spreadsheet. This is clearly marked for ease of reference.

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection. In most cases the copyright will be owned by Nottingham City Council. The copyright in other information may be owned by another person or organisation, as indicated in the information itself.

You are free to use any information supplied for your own use, including for non commercial research purposes. The information may also be used for the purposes of news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public will require the permission of the copyright owner.

For information where the copyright is owned by the Council details of the conditions on re-use can be obtained by contacting the Information Governance Office of Nottingham City Council at The Guildhall, Nottingham, NG1 4BT or by telephoning us on (0115) 9154155. For information where the copyright is owned by another person or organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their permission.

If you should have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me on the above number quoting your personal case reference which is IGO/09-5562.

If you are not satisfied with the response provided or any exemptions applied you should write in the first instance to Stephanie Pearson, Information Governance, The Guildhall, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BT stating the reasons for your dissatisfaction. If you remain dissatisfied after receiving a response to your initial complaint you can request an independent review from the Information Commissioner's Office at FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution, Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. You may also contact the Information Commissioner's Office by telephone on 01625 545745 or by email at [email address].

Yours sincerely

Charlotte Halls

Senior Information Governance Officer

Information Governance Office

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