Date: 14th September 2009
Our ref: RFI 566
Your ref: 16996-69cb46bc
Mr David Jones
By email:
[FOI #16996 email]
Block B
Government Buildings
Whittington Road
Worcester
WR5 2LQ
Dear Mr Jones
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REGULATIONS 2004 - PARTIAL RELEASE – RFI 566
Thank you for your request for information about heritage management plans which we
received on 14 August 20009. Your request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 (The Regulations).You confirmed that you refer to the heritage
management plans that are mentioned on this page of our website,
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/landscape/protection/historiccultural/heritagelandscapes/default.aspx.
We have over 130 management plans for conditionally exempt properties. Some properties
have two plans – an original plan and an updated plan. Some plans are large documents,
comprising multiple volumes that include appendices such as listed building descriptions etc.
Due to the volume of information, we did try to contact you to discuss narrowing your
request. We did not receive a reply and so we have selected a range of plans that we can
supply within the timeframe allowed in the Regulations.
The timeframe allowed by Natural England is 18 hours work. We needed to go through each
plan to remove any personal information. This takes time – on average approximately one
hour per plan, slightly more for longer plans. Therefore we have decided to provide copies of
17 heritage management plans to you. These plans have been sent today to the postal
address you provided.
.
We have selected plans that represent the range of plans across England ie
at least one from every rural region;
different size and type of properties;
old and modern plans (1994 – 2009).
Please note that some plans were prepared many years ago ie before the current guidance
on preparing management plans was published.
Personal information is being withheld as this falls under the exception in Regulation 13 of
the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 which relates to personal information where
the information does not relate to an incident and if released would contravene any of the
data protection principles.
The names, contact details, finances and security of private individuals are considered by
Natural England to be personal information as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998.
The First Data Protection Principle says that personal data ‘shall be processed fairly and
lawfully’. Guidance published by the Information Commissioner, ‘Freedom of Information Act
2000, Awareness Guidance No 1’, states that when considering fairness, the following
questions should be taken into account.
Would the disclosure cause unnecessary or unjustified distress or damage to the
person who the information is about?
Would the third party expect that his or her information might be disclosed to others?
Had the person been led to believe that his or her information would be kept secret?
Has the third party expressly refused consent to disclosure of the information?
When names and contact details and other personal sensitive information are collected from
individuals by Natural England we do not inform them that the information will remain
confidential or that it may be released, however, we believe that there is an expectation of
confidentiality.
The release of names or contact details or financial or security information and any
subsequent contact, may cause unnecessary or unjustified distress or damage to the
individuals if released, and they have a reasonable expectation of confidence.
Natural England is therefore satisfied, that the information requested fits the definition of
personal data and that its release would be ‘unfair’ under the meaning of the first Data
Protection Principle and should not be released.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to
make a complaint or request a review of our decision, please contact me and I will arrange
for a colleague to complete an internal review. Under Regulation 11(2) this needs to be done
no later than 40 working days after the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner cannot make a
decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by Natural England.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: 01625 545 700,
www.ico.gov.uk. Yours sincerely,
Darren Green
Delivery Leader - Information Access and Security
