Mr B H Owen

I can confirm that the Council does hold information falling within the terms of your request. However, under the Act, the Council has the right to refuse to comply with a re[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:32:00 2009 ]quest if an exemption applies. The Council believes that in this case such exemptions apply and the City and County of Swansea has decided to refuse your request in part.[Author ID0: at ]

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In relation to request a), [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:33:00 2009 ]p[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:34:00 2009 ]lease find attached list of rateable values of empty commercial properties within the Authority'[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:36:00 2009 ]s area. [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:36:00 2009 ][Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:36:00 2009 ]

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The Authority has applied exemptions [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:41:00 2009 ]in relation [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:45:00 2009 ]to[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:34:00 2009 ] your request for [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:41:00 2009 ]names and [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:44:00 2009 ]addresses[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:41:00 2009 ], as follows:[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:45:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:34:00 2009 ]

In relation to those empty properties, in the ownership of a private individual;[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:34:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:52:00 2009 ]

The Authority seeks to reply upon section[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:35:00 2009 ] 40 (2), relating to third party personal information. Such information is exempt where disclosure would contravene the Data Protection Act or data protection principles. The information which you have requested contains the[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:45:00 2009 ] personal details [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:45:00 2009 ]of individuals. It[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:35:00 2009 ] is the[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:36:00 2009 ] Authority[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:48:00 2009 ]'s view that this data clearly constitutes their personal information and disclosur[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:36:00 2009 ]e would be a breach of confiden[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:36:00 2009 ]ce[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:54:00 2009 ]. This section, when applied to the information of a third party is a qualified exemption and this aspect of your request is examined below in relation to the application of the public interest test.[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:36:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:38:00 2009 ]

In relation to those empty properti[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:38:00 2009 ]es in the ownership of a compan[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:38:00 2009 ]y[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:54:00 2009 ] or corporate body:[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:38:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ]

The Authority seeks to rely upon [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:38:00 2009 ]Section 41. This exemption relates to information provided in confidence to the[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ] [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 13:09:00 2009 ]Autho[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ]rity from a third party. Infor[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ]m[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ]a[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 13:09:00 2009 ]tion in relation to empty properties is held by the Authority for particular specified purposes and is processed in accordance with those purposes. Processing and releasing this information outside of the expectation of confidence given to the individual supplying the d[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ]a[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:53:00 2009 ]ta, may result in an actionable b[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:52:00 2009 ]reach of confidence[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:53:00 2009 ]. [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:02:00 2009 ]The exemption, although absolute, does make reference to the public interest in consideration of the overall duty of confidence. The [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:40:00 2009 ]A[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:55:00 2009 ]uthority has taken this into account and its view is that there is no public interest in disclosure of this information[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:40:00 2009 ].[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:55:00 2009 ][Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:40:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:41:00 2009 ]

The City and County of Swansea also considers that the release of the information you have requested would harm the commercial interests of the owners of the properties. Section 43 of the Act relates to commercial interests. Information is exempt under this exe[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:41:00 2009 ]m[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:43:00 2009 ]ption where release of the information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person or body, including the Authority. The Authority considers that the release of this data may harm the interests of owners of vacant properties who[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:41:00 2009 ]se[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:56:00 2009 ] premises may be targeted for theft or vandalism. This exemption is a qualified exemption and the public interest test is examined below[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:41:00 2009 ].[Author ID0: at ]

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The Authority would also seek to reply upon Section 38 which relates to health and safety where disclosure would:[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:43:00 2009 ]

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endanger the physical or metal health of any individual, or[Author ID0: at ]
endanger the safety of any individual.[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:44:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:02:00 2009 ]

[Author ID0: at ]

In examining this matter the Authority has determined that the release of this information could potentially endanger the physical or mental health of the public as providin[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:06:00 2009 ]g information on empty [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:06:00 2009 ]properties[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 13:12:00 2009 ] could encourage illegal entry with associated risks in disused premises.[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:06:00 2009 ] Given that empty properties are by their nature liable to be at increased risk [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:46:00 2009 ]of [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:58:00 2009 ]disrepair and are therefore potentially dan[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:46:00 2009 ]gerous there may be a risk [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:46:00 2009 ]that [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:59:00 2009 ]if the information is disclosed there may be a risk of break ins and squatting.[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:46:00 2009 ][Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:06:00 2009 ]

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Qualified exemptions are subject to the Public Interest Test. This means that even though the information you have requested is exempt, the Authority must decide whether the public interest in m[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:07:00 2009 ]ain[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:09:00 2009 ]taining the exemption outweighs[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:07:00 2009 ] the public interest in its disclosure, in other words that the harm that would be likely to be caused by disclosure would be greater than the wider public interest in disclosure. The exemptions under section[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:09:00 2009 ] 38,[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:47:00 2009 ] 40[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:09:00 2009 ] and 43 are qualified exemptions. The matter has been carefully considered and the decision is that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in its disclosure. This is on the basis that parties providing their information would have done so firstly, with a legitimate expectation of confidence and confidentiality and secondly in the legi[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:09:00 2009 ]timate belief that it would not be disclosed in a manner that would damage their commercial reasons unless there was an overwhelming public interest [Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:11:00 2009 ]in this release. The A[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:11:00 2009 ]uthority is not satisfied that there is an overwhelming public interest in this regard.[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 12:13:00 2009 ] In relation to section 38 the Authority has reached the conclusion that there is no overriding public interest in disclosing this information.[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 15:49:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 11:34:00 2009 ]

If for whatever reason you are unhappy with our response, you should first take the matter up through the Council's FOI Review Procedure. The Corporate Complaints Manager[Author ID2: at Fri Apr 3 10:29:00 2009 ]~~Officer~~[Author ID2: at Fri Apr 3 10:29:00 2009 ], Mr. Huw G. Evans, can be contacted on 01792 627345 or by writing to City and County of Swansea, Room 3.3.8, County Hall, Swansea SA1 3SN.

If you are still unhappy, you can apply under s. 50 of the Act to the Information Commissioner, who will determine whether or not your request has been dealt with correctly. The Information Commissioner for Wales can be contacted by writing to the Information Commissioner's Office ([Author ID2: at Fri Apr 3 10:29:00 2009 ]- [Author ID2: at Fri Apr 3 10:29:00 2009 ]Wales)[Author ID2: at Fri Apr 3 10:29:00 2009 ], Cambrian Buildings, Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff CF10 5FL.

Yours sincerely

M C Hobbs[Author ID2: at Wed May 20 13:14:00 2009 ]

[Author ID2: at Fri Apr 3 10:29:00 2009 ]

Freedom of Information Officer