Mike Zeelie Date: 2^nd February 2010

Email: [FOI #26481 email] Our ref: FOI.10.6124

Dear Mr Zeelie

Freedom of Information Request

I refer to your recent Freedom of Information Request and can confirm the following information: -

(1) What is the average Council Tax banding of the dwellings in each CAF area/ward?

Please see attached spreadsheet of the required information.

(2) What was the total Council Tax yield from each CAF area/ward in the latest period for which figures are available?

The attached spreadsheet shows the gross figures, not the yield, for each ward/CAF area. Our software system does not hold the Council Tax benefit information in the ward/CAF format required; it holds the information on an individual/street/account number order. It is estimated that to extract the level of detail required would involve a disproportionate exercise of trawling through individual records that will far exceed the cost limits of the Act. It is for these reasons that this part of the request is refused, this will be explained further in the Grounds for Refusal section below.

(3) What percentage of the households in each CAF area/ward were in receipt of Housing and Council Tax benefit in the latest period for which figures are available?

For the same reasons as stated in response to the previous question, this part of the request is also refused, this will be explained further in the Grounds for Refusal section below.

Grounds for Refusal

The Council is not legally obliged to respond to requests that are estimated to exceed the cost threshold of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 i.e. of 18 hours/£450.00. It is estimated that to process your request will involve a disproportionate exercise of trawling through individual records that will far exceed the cost limits of the Act. It is on this basis that your request is part refused.

A refusal notice is enclosed outlining our reasons for part refusal.

I hope this information is of assistance to you.

Copyright procedure

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use this information for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and news reporting. Any other re-use of this information, for example commercial publication requires the permission of the Council as the Copyright holder. All re-use requests will be treated under the Re-Use of Public Information Regulation 2006.

Appeal procedure

Should you wish to appeal against the decision made about this matter you can write to the Records Management Team Leader to have your case reviewed by our Internal Review Panel. This should be sent to us within four weeks and must clearly state the reasons for your appeal and your FOI reference number. The Records Management Team address is as follows: Records Management Team, Town Hall and Civic Buildings, Westoe Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE33 2RL.

Information Commissioner's office (ICO)

Should you remain dissatisfied, you can appeal against our final decision by writing to the Information Commissioner to have your case independently reviewed.

The Information Commissioner is the Government's Independent Body responsible for overseeing the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Please do note that the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the Council's internal appeal procedures. All correspondence to the ICO must quote the Council's reference number and your reasons for your appeal.

The ICO's contact details are as follows: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF. More information can be found on the ICO's website at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk.

If you have any further queries about this matter then please do not hesitate to contact me on the number below:

Yours sincerely

Paul Robinson

Head of Policy, Performance and Partnerships

Tel 0191 424 7491

[email address]