Details of empty commercial properties with a rateable value between £18,000 & £20,000.

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Response
Dear Sir / Madam

We acknowledge your request for information received on 27/04/2010 05.56
PM

Your request has been passed to the Freedom of Information Team. This team
will contact you directly with the name and contact details of the Council
Officer responsible for handling your request.

If the information you are seeking exists, and we are not prevented from
releasing it by an exemption, the Council aim to provide you with the
information within 20 working days from receipt of your request.

Yours Sincerely
Enfield Council

Dear Sir / Madam

We acknowledge your request for information received on 27/04/2010 05.56
PM

Your request has been passed to the Freedom of Information Team. This team
will contact you directly with the name and contact details of the Council
Officer responsible for handling your request.

If the information you are seeking exists, and we are not prevented from
releasing it by an exemption, the Council aim to provide you with the
information within 20 working days from receipt of your request.

Yours Sincerely
Enfield Council

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Discussion Thread
Customer (Natalie Davis) 27/04/2010 05.56 PM
Dear Enfield Council,

Please can you provide me with the following information under the
Freedom Of Information Act 2000:-

(a) addresses and rateable values of empty Commercial properties
with a current rateable value between *18,000 and *20,000 that are
within Enfield Council area; and

(b) the names and addresses of the owners of those properties
referred to in (a)

Yours faithfully,

Natalie Davis

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Question Reference No100427-000008
Date Created: 27/04/2010 05.56 PM
Last Updated: 27/04/2010 05.56 PM
Status: Correspondence team

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Dear Natalie

I am replying to your request for information made on the 27/04/10. I am
very sorry we had thought that this request had been replied to but I can
find no actual trace of a reply being sent so apologies if you have already
received our reply.

We have received numerous requests from various sources for this
information and I am refusing the requests for information under the
Freedom of information Act 2000 and my grounds for refusing are as follows.

Cost,

The request is manifestly excessive and could not possibly be met within
the costs limit applicable so under Section 12 of the Freedom of
Information Act a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request
for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with
the request would exceed the “appropriate limit” prescribed in the
regulations.

Exemptions Applicable,

We have determined that you should not be provided with the information you
have requested because the following exemptions under the Act apply.

The Council holds information regarding empty properties on its Business
Rates database. The only means by which such data can be accessed would be
by processing the data held with reference to identifying which properties
received (or did not) a relevant discount or empty property exemption from
Business Rates for example.

The exemption and discount information may be personal to the owners of the
properties concerned and would thus involve the processing of personal data
under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Data Protection Act prohibits
disclosure of personal data, defined as “Data which relate to a living
individual who can be identified: from that data, or from that data and
other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into
the possession of the data controller”. The definition of personal data is
not limited to the disclosure of an individuals name but can mean any
information relating to an identifiable person, directly or indirectly by
reference to e.g. an identification number or to one or more factors
specific to e.g. economic identity.

Under the Freedom of Information Act requests for information that would
contravene any of the data protection principles are exempt under Section
40. Having considered the Data Protection Principles the Authority has
decided that those principles would be contravened and cannot provide you
with the information sought. This is an absolute exemption under the Act.

Another exemption applicable is under Section 31 of the Freedom of
Information Act that in this Authority’s view also applies to this request.
This section provides that information is exempt from disclosure if such
disclosure would prejudice the “prevention or detection of crime”. Putting
the addresses of empty properties within the Borough into the public domain
would in the Authority’s view compromise the security of the buildings
concerned and would prejudice the objectives of preventing criminal
behaviour. We consider there is a significant risk that releasing details
of empty properties might lead to burglary, arson or squatting. Within the
borough there have been occasions when fires have been set in empty
properties. In relation to domestic and commercial empty properties,
there is also known use of such empty properties to commit benefit fraud,
identity fraud and money laundering.

We have consulted with other Boroughs who have also received similar
requests; we have been advised that concerns have also been expressed by
the Metropolitan Police. These concerns indicate that release of the
information sought would in the police’s view increase the potential for
the properties to be targeted by squatters, by criminals or terrorists
intent on hiding or depositing proceeds of crime or terrorist materials.
There is also the potential for premises to be identified as short-term
hiding places by criminals or terrorists. We have consulted our local
police and they have confirmed the number of incidents of crimes carried
out on empty properties, and their view is that disclosing this information
would prejudice the prevention of crime.

These incidents would support the concerns the Authority has as to the
prejudice to the prevention of crime in the borough if the information were
disclosed. The Act does not allow the Council to enquire as to motives, nor
do we have any control over distribution of the information once it is
released into the public domain.

Section 31 is a qualified exemption to which the public interest test must
be applied. There do not appear to be any obvious public interest
considerations that would weigh in favour of disclosure beyond that
wherever possible it is in the public interest for them to have access to
information. There is however in our view clear public interest
considerations that weigh in favour of not disclosing the information since
to do so would prejudice the objective of prevention of crime which is of
course in everyone’s interests. Having considered whether the public
interest weighs in favour of disclosure or non-disclosure in this instance
the Authority has decided that it is not in the public interest to release
such information.

Yours sincerely

Simon Ranyard
Business Rates & Council Tax Team Leader
DDI: 0208 379 4768 or 4766
email: [email address]

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