report

FOIA/RJ/2086

Thank you for your request for information regarding dog breeding, which
was received on 10th September, 2009 and is being dealt with under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. We are therefore required to provide you
with a response within 20 working days, which will be on or before 8th
October, 2009.

If we require any clarification or further details, we will contact you as
soon as possible.

In the meantime, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to
contact me, remembering to quote the reference number above in any
communications.

Yours sincerely

John Tillman

Information & Data Protection Officer

Mae*r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi*u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y*u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Os derbyniwch y neges
hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i*r sawl a*i hanfonodd ar unwaith,
dilëwch y neges o*ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gopïau papur
ohoni. Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i unrhyw un arall, na gweithredu ar
sail y cynnwys. Eiddo*r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwynt a fynegir, ac
nid ydynt o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am
firysau eich hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw
atebolrwydd am golled neu niwed a all fod wedi*i achosi gan firysau
meddalwedd neu trwy ryng-gipio*r neges hon neu ymyrryd â hi.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If received in error
please notify the sender immediately, delete the message from your
computer and destroy any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed
to any other person, nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of the Council. You should carry out your own virus check before opening
any attachment. We accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be
caused by software viruses or interception/interruption of this mail.

Dear Ms Jones,

I refer to your request for information regarding dog breeding, which was
received on 10^th September, 2009 and has been dealt with under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The specific information you requested was as follows:

The initial inspection/assesment report for Bronhaul Uchaf, Porthyrhyd dog
breeding establishment.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by the
Council.

I am also of the view that the information constitutes personal data
belonging to the dog breeder in question.

The legal definition of personal information contained in the DPA is
information that relates to a living individual, who can be identified
from the information, or from other information held or likely to be held
by the data controller (in this case the Council). This would include
names, addresses and job titles as well as a wide range of information
about a person.

Under Section 40 (2) of the Act, a public authority may refuse to release
personal data if its disclosure would breach any of the data protection
principles set out in Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).

The first data protection principle requires that personal data be
processed fairly and lawfully, with the term processing including
disclosure or release to third parties. Schedule 2 of the DPA provides
the conditions relevant to the first data protection principle and at
least one must be met before personal data can be disclosed.

The relevant condition is found at paragraph 6 of Schedule 2, which I will
quote below in full:

"6 (1) The processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate
interests pursued by the data controller or by the third party or parties
to whom the data are disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted
in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms
or legitimate interests of the data subject."

Disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act has the
effect of placing it in the public domain. I must therefore disregard who
has asked for the information and am required to consider whether it would
breach the first data protection principle by releasing it to the public
at large.

The first step in meeting the condition quoted above is to establish
whether there is in fact a legitimate public interest in disclosing the
information, before considering whether the interests of the individuals
in question outweigh this. I would add that the concept of public interest
differs from mere public curiosity, or something that members of the
public may find interesting.

I accept that dog breeding is a subject which inspires strong views and
that there is a genuine public interest in knowing that breeders are
adhering to legislation and licence conditions, and are properly regulated
and inspected by authorities like the Council. This may extend to
providing edited copies of reports.

However, I believe that in this case, countervailing factors come into
play which militate against disclosure. These are as follows:

1. Whether the information is about the individual's private or public
life.

Although the information does focus on the individual's business
activities, given that the business is conducted from their home, it
therefore becomes impossible in my view to separate this from their
private life. There will therefore be a significant intrusion of privacy
by disclosing the report.

Furthermore, I am not aware that this particular premises advertises
itself, for example, by means of a website, the Yellow Pages and etc.

2. The reasonable expectations of the individual -

I believe the individual concerned would have a reasonable expectation
that the records of inspections of their premises would be kept
confidential, or at the very least, not published with their personal data
included.

3. The potential harm or distress that may be caused by the disclosure.

In relation to another request for inspection reports for dog breeding
establishments and after considering the facts of the case, the
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) determined that the Council should
release the reports, but only with the names of the dog breeders and the
addresses of the premises redacted.

It would clearly not be possible to redact the report in this case as the
request is for one named establishment only.

The welfare of animals, particularly dogs, is an emotive subject, which in
an unfortunate minority of cases results in threats and acts of criminal
damage, violence and so forth. As we have advised other requesters, the
Council is aware from discussions with the Police that a number of
incidents have occurred in the County in previous years where the property
of individuals engaged in dog breeding was specifically targeted by
activists resulting in criminal damage and risk to public safety.

I am therefore of the view that in this case, the risk of harm or distress
to the individuals is a third factor which outweighs the public interest
in disclosure.

In view of the above, I do not consider that the condition quoted above is
met and it is my view that the release of the inspection report would
breach the first data protection principle. Section 40 (2) of the Act
provides and absolute exemption where this is the case.

As I am refusing to provide the requested information, please therefore
consider this email as a formal notice of refusal under Section 17 of the
Act.

If you disagree with this decision or the way in which your request has
been dealt with, you have the right to complain in the first instance to:

The Head of Administration & Law

Carmarthenshire County Council

County Hall

Carmarthen

SA31 1JP

Email: [email address]

If you remain unhappy with any subsequent decision, you have the right to
appeal to the Information Commissioner to rule on your complaint. You may
write to him at:

Information Commissioner

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

If I can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

John Tillman
Swyddog Gwybodaeth a Diogelu Data
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin

Information & Data Protection Officer
Chief Executive's Department
Carmarthenshire County Council

Tel: (01267) 246108
Mewnol/Internal: 6108
Ffacs/Fax: (01267) 246134

Mae*r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiadau yn gyfrinachol ac wedi*u bwriadu at
ddefnydd yr unigolyn y*u cyfeiriwyd ato/ati yn unig. Os derbyniwch y neges
hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i*r sawl a*i hanfonodd ar unwaith,
dil*wch y neges o*ch cyfrifiadur a dinistriwch unrhyw gop*au papur ohoni.
Ni ddylech ddangos yr e-bost i unrhyw un arall, na gweithredu ar sail y
cynnwys. Eiddo*r awdur yw unrhyw farn neu safbwynt a fynegir, ac nid ydynt
o reidrwydd yn cynrychioli safbwynt y Cyngor. Dylech wirio am firysau eich
hunan cyn agor unrhyw atodiad. Nid ydym yn derbyn unrhyw atebolrwydd am
golled neu niwed a all fod wedi*i achosi gan firysau meddalwedd neu trwy
ryng-gipio*r neges hon neu ymyrryd * hi.

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. If received in error
please notify the sender immediately, delete the message from your
computer and destroy any hard copies. The e-mail should not be disclosed
to any other person, nor the contents acted upon. Any views or opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of the Council. You should carry out your own virus check before opening
any attachment. We accept no liability for any loss or damage which may be
caused by software viruses or interception/interruption of this mail.