Phil Beschizza
4/A5, Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU
Direct Line: 020 7944 5818
E mail : [email address]
Web Site: www.communities.gov.uk
Mr Alex Skene
Our Ref: E0002970
Email: request-6724-
[email address]
25 March 2009
Dear Mr Skene,
Thank you for your request for the information listed below, which was received on 27
January 2009. I wrote to you on 24 February informing you that your request had been
extended for a further 20 days. Your request has been considered under the
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004.
1. A "data dump" of the information stored in the Non-Domestic Energy
Performance Certificate Register's underlying database.
2. A list of all data fields and their definitions for this database
3. Any advice and assistance the Department can provide about accessing Display
Energy Certificate data. If this data is readily available to be combined with (1)
and (2) above.
I am writing to advise you that the Department has decided not to disclose the
information you requested on 27 January 2009.
The information you requested is being withheld as it falls under the exemption in
Regulations 12(4)(b) and 12(5)(e) of the Environmental Information Regulations.
The attached annex A to this letter sets out the exemption, as well as the factors the
Department for Communities & Local Government considered in applying the public
interest test. It also sets out a more detailed explanation of why the information is being
withheld. The attached annex also includes a schedule of the types of documents
analysed by the Department for Communities & Local Government when considering
your request. In applying these exceptions we have had to balance the public interest in
withholding the information against the public interest in disclosing the information.
Communities and Local Government as an organisation aims to be as helpful as
possible in the way it deals with requests for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. If, however,
you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has been handled or the
Department for Communities and Local Government
Tel 020 7944 5818
Eland House
Email [email address]
Bressenden Place
LONDON
SW1E 5DU
Page 1 of 4
outcome, you may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of
this letter. Information about the Department's review procedures and how to apply for
an internal review of your case is contained on the Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/about/freedom-of-information/foicomplaints/.
This also explains your right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision in the event that you remain dissatisfied following the Department’s internal
review
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote
the reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely,
Phil Beschizza
Department for Communities and Local Government
Tel 020 7944 5818
Eland House
Email [email address]
Bressenden Place
LONDON
SW1E 5DU
Page 2 of 4
Annex A
Exemption in full
12(4)(b) – the request for information is manifestly unreasonable
12(5)(e) – the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information where such
confidentiality is provided by law to protect a legitimate economic interest
Factors for disclosure
Factors for withholding
• Furthering the understanding of and
• Request for information that places a
participation in the public debate of issues of
substantial and unreasonable burden on the
the day.
resources of the Department;
• Promoting openness, accountability and
• Extensive scans of historic files are
transparency of public authorities and
necessary;
decisions taken by them.
• Significant searching of a large database or
• Promoting openness, accountability and
files of information is necessary;
transparency in the spending of public
• Extensive redaction is necessary;
money.
• A request for information in a particular
• Allowing individuals and companies to
format may also be unreasonable if it
understand decisions made by the
imposes a significant and unnecessary
Department.
burden on the Department
• If the public have information on
• Although the provisions of the EIR take
environmental information that can influence
precedence over the provisions of The
decisions from a position of knowledge
Energy Performance of Buildings
rather than mere speculation.
(Certificates and Inspections) (England and
Wales) Regulations 2007 regulations 14 of
the latter restricts the purposes for which
certificates and recommendation reports
may be disclosed.
• Confidentiality of commercial information.
Department for Communities and Local Government
Tel 020 7944 5818
Eland House
Email [email address]
Bressenden Place
LONDON
SW1E 5DU
Page 3 of 4
Reasons why public interest favours withholding information
The Register Operator, who holds the information on the central Non-Domestic Register
on behalf of CLG, has confirmed the time and cost involved in providing a 'data dump' of
all of the information held on the Non-domestic Register.
The costs and time effort estimates shown below are based upon the resources needed
for the Register Operator to review the requirements, evaluate how the reports will be
produced, design and write the relevant queries, extract the information from the input
data in the central Register, carry out the analysis, compile the results, quality check the
results and deliver the results. Providing the information in 'unreadable' form cannot be
interpreted because the data would contain ‘unrecognisable’ values. The work involved in
assessing whether the ‘data dump’ contains any personal information, and making the
necessary redactions, would also be time consuming. There would be very little difference
in the number of delivery days and cost in providing the information in this form.
Cost and Impact Statement: The data storage sizing and media storage requirements will
be excessive to fulfil this request, likewise the cost. In addition there are hundreds of data
fields which it would take a significant level of software development time to extract,
simplify, and provide suitable definitions.
It will take several weeks to extract and provide this data in the format requested. The
total number of day’s effort to provide the information is 87 working days. Total estimated
cost to deliver the data requested is £36,862.
A ‘data dump’ of all of the information in the Non-Domestic Register will have ‘commercial’
implications for the business of the Register Operator. The information held on the
Register is not publicly available and would be likely to be used by competitors in a
particular market to gain a competitive edge.
Type of Document
Applicable Exemption
The Environmental Information Regulations Section 12 – exceptions to the duty to disclose
2004
environmental information
Department for Communities and Local Government
Tel 020 7944 5818
Eland House
Email [email address]
Bressenden Place
LONDON
SW1E 5DU
Page 4 of 4
