Business Rates

The request was partially successful.

Dear Stockton on Tees Council,

In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, and subject to section 40(2) on personal data, could you please provide me with your local authority’s complete and most-recently updated list of all business (non-residential) property rates data, including the following fields:

- Billing Authority Property Reference Code (linking the property to the public VOA database reference)
- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant or ratepayer)
- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)
- Occupation / Vacancy status
- Date of Occupation / Vacancy
- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds) and/or categories of reliefs/exemptions granted

If you are unable to provide an absolute “Occupation / Vacancy” status, please provide the Exemptions and / or Reliefs that a particular property may be receiving.

NOTE: While FOIs are meant to be requestor blind, these data are actively used by national government and UK universities to inform the economic response to COVID-19. Commercial ratepayer data are always of public interest but, in the midst of a global pandemic and its consequent devastating economic fallout, these data are vital to track business behaviour and guide government and enterprise adaptation to the social impact of COVID-19. Please publish quickly so that organisations trying to support your local authority can do so.

Please provide these data as machine-readable as a Microsoft Excel file, capable of re-use, and under terms of the Open Government Licence (reuse for any and all purposes, including commercial).

Yours faithfully,

SIMON PHILLIPS

Dear Stockton on Tees Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Stockton on Tees Council's handling of my FOI request 'Business Rates'.

[ GIVE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR COMPLAINT HERE ]

I note that you have not confirmed or denied whether the authority holds this information, and have not applied an exemption that would remove this obligation.
As you may be aware, Section 1(1) of the FOI Act (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/200...) states that "Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request".
I would be grateful if you could clarify whether or not this information is held, or specify which exemption of the duty to confirm or deny you are applying.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

SIMON PHILLIPS

FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

Dear Simon

Thank you for your correspondence. I cannot find a record of your original request.

However please be advised that business rate information is published on the Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council website on a quarterly basis. The most recent publication can be found at https://www.stockton.gov.uk/our-economy/...

Please note: Details, including the address, have not been provided for sole traders, private individuals or partnerships as this is considered to be personal information and is exempt from disclosure under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In addition, the billing address has also not been provided as this too is considered to be personal information and therefore exempt from disclosure.

If the information you have requested falls outside of the timeframe currently published, the information is intended for future publication, therefore disclosure at this time is exempt under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act 2004.
If you have any queries or concerns please contact me in the first instance.

However, if you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been handled, you can submit a complaint to [email address]

If, after your complaint has been determined, you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Telephone: 0303 123 1113 Website: www.ico.org.uk.

The ICO does not make a charge for an appeal.

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Team
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD
(01642) 527455
[email address]
www.stockton.gov.uk

show quoted sections

Dear FOI and Complaints,

The link you sent does not redirect me to the information I requested?

Yours sincerely,

SIMON PHILLIPS

FOI and Complaints, Stockton on Tees Council

This document was classified as: OFFICIAL

Dear Simon Phillips

We have made some changes to our website since sending you the below link in January. The database can now be found at https://www.stockton.gov.uk/business-rates

Regards

Sarah McLaren
Information Governance Officer
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council
Telephone: 01642 527521 | Email: [email address] | Web: www.stockton.gov.uk

show quoted sections