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'Fisher's Estuarine Moth'.
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Date: 17 October 2008
Our ref: Ref: SW/363
Your ref:
Ms Susan Davis
By Email: [FOI #3516 email]
Dear Ms Davis
Access to Information Request - Partial release - RFI 363
Thank you for your request received on 13 October 2008 for us to provide all information relating to any damage which has occurred in the last 10 years to the habitat of Fisher's Estuarine moth in Essex. Specifically to provide any details held and copies of any correspondence or other communications both within Natural England's predecessor bodies, and between these bodies and other bodies, including the Environment Agency, meeting minutes or other documents, relating to:
the damage itself and how it occurred
how the damage was brought to our attention
action taken by the Environment Agency or by Natural England's predecessor bodies in respect of this damage, and any action taken by other bodies
the likely impact of the damage on Fisher's Estuarine moth and any other species or habitats
what factors caused the damage to occur, and whether these factors are believed to have been of a systematic or one-off nature
any work carried out to address these causes
any fines or other penalties which were incurred by the Environment Agency or others as a result of this incident
any measures which the Environment Agency or other bodies were required to or agreed to take to make good the damage caused, or any other compensatory work carried out
any monitoring requested and agreed to and the results of this monitoring
Your request has been carefully considered under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Copies of the information is attached in 5 compressed files. This was necessary due to the size of the documents.
For ease of reference the title of each scanned page is annotated to reflect the information points (a-i) listed in your request (as displayed above).
The pages titled 'Extracts from P Waring (1999)' were copied from an unpublished report for English Nature: Waring, P. (1999) Fisher's Estuarine Moth Gortyna borelii lunata: site visits, nocturnal survey and provision of specialist advice - 5 October 1999.
The names and contact details that have been removed and the paragraph outlining details of an unrelated alleged offence (within document titled 'Email about damage done to site) have been withheld as they fall under the exception in Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 which relates to personal information where the information does not relate to the incident and if released would contravene any of the data protection principles.
The names and contact details 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 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 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:
Darren Green, Senior Specialist Information Access and Security,
Natural England, Block B, Government Buildings, Whittington, WORCESTER WR5 2LQ
Email: [email address] Tel: 01905 763355
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.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Waterfield
Adviser - Information Access and Security
Natural England
Sarah Waterfield
Natural England
Northminster House
Northminster Road
PETERBOROUGH
PE1 1UA
T: 01733 455000