Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q2 2018)

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Torfaen County Borough Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Torfaen 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 a complete and up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data for your local authority, and including the following fields:

- Billing Authority Property Reference Code (linking the property to the VOA database reference)
- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant)
- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)
- Occupied / Vacant
- Date of Occupation / Vacancy
- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds)

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.

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

I last requested this data three months ago, and this is a request for an updated and current dataset.

I'm sure you get many requests for business rates and responding and managing these FOIs must be costly for you. Could I request that - as 65% of local authorities now do - you update and release this dataset via a dedicated page on your local authority website or on an open data service. I can recommend approaches for you to consider, and you should find that this reduces the time and cost of this request process.

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

Call Torfaen, Torfaen County Borough Council

Thank you for taking the time to email Torfaen County Borough Council.

 

Please be aware that your enquiry is being addressed and a reply will be
sent within 10 working days.

 

Did you know that you can report issues and request information via our
website at [1]www.torfaen.gov.uk or make reports and requests by
downloading our Mobile App.

 

By registering your email address, you will be able to track progress of
your enquiry from start to finish.

 

The Mobile App is available on Apple, Android and Windows devices and can
be found by typing Torfaen into the search function in the relevant App
Store.

 

'

show quoted sections

The
Council welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence
received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to any
delay.
**********************************************************************
Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb
Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i unrhyw oedi.'

References

Visible links
1. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/

FOI, Torfaen County Borough Council

2 Attachments

Thank you for your email dated 5 April 2018 requesting information under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I have logged your email and will
deal with your request in order that we can respond to you within the
statutory deadline of 20 working days.

 

I will contact you further as soon as the relevant information is
available.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Rosie Seabourne BSc (Hons) Soc. Sciences

SENIOR BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICER COMPLAINTS/FOI/ UWCH SWYDDOG CYMORTH
BUSNES CWYNION / RHYDDID GWYBODAETH

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SERVICE / GWASANAETH Y PRIF WEITHREDWR

TORFAEN COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL / CYNGOR BWRDEISTREF SIROL TORFAEN

Email / Ebost: [1][email address]

Phone/Ffon: 01633 647625

Fax/Facs: 01495 766331

[2]www.torfaen.gov.uk / [3]cid:image001.gif@01D25ADB.C2748700[4]Follow us
on Twitter / [5]cid:image002.gif@01D25ADB.C2748700[6]Find us on Facebook

This email is available in large print or Welsh upon request

 

'

show quoted sections

The
Council welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence
received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to any
delay.
**********************************************************************
Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb
Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i unrhyw oedi.'

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/
3. http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
4. Follow Torfaen Council on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
6. Torfaen Council Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/torfaen

FOI, Torfaen County Borough Council

3 Attachments

Dear Mr Chait

 

18/280 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST

 

Further to our acknowledgement of your request.  I am now in a position to
provide you with a response.

 

You have requested:

 

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 a complete and
up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data for
your local authority, and including the following fields:

 

- Billing Authority Property Reference Code (linking the property to the
VOA database reference)

- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant)

- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)

- Occupied / Vacant

- Date of Occupation / Vacancy

- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds)

 

Please see the attached document for up to date requested data. I can
confirm that we do hold the business name however some of these are names
of individuals and are being withheld on the basis of the exemptions in
Sec. 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in that disclosure of
the information would be likely to contravene the principles of the Data
Protection Act as it would be likely to reveal the identity of the
individuals.

 

The relevant principle is the first principle which states that:

 

“Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and in particular
shall not be processed unless:

(a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met, and

(b) In the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions
in Schedule 3 is met.”

The relevant condition in Schedule 2 is condition 6 which states that:

“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 or freedoms or
legitimate interest of the data subject.”

Following the tribunal decision in Corporate Officer of the House of
Commons V Information Commissioner and Leapman Brooke and Thomas the
Information Commissioner has recommended that public authorities approach
Condition 6 as a three part test which has been applied as follows:

1. There must be legitimate interest in the public obtaining the
information. There is an interest in public awareness and confidence that
the Council is acting properly.

2 The second test is knowing whether the disclosure is necessary for the
legitimate public interest.

If the information was to be disclosed it is likely that the identity of
the individuals would be known and there isn’t a legitimate interest in
the public obtaining personal information about certain individuals.

3 The third test is whether the disclosure is nevertheless unwarranted
because of an excessive or disproportionate adverse effect on the
legitimate interests of the individuals concerned.

The individuals concerned would not expect the information to be released
to the public and disclosure would not be justified by a wider public
interest.

 

Information supplied in response to any Freedom of Information Act request
may be subject to copyright. A single copy of information supplied under
the Freedom of Information Act may only be used for personal,
non-commercial research or study, unless stated otherwise. It must not be
passed to others, copied or re-published in whole or in part without
permission from the copyright holder. Any copyright statement that forms
part of or in any way refers to the information provided must not be
altered or removed.

 

If you have any queries about this letter or are unhappy about the service
you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint
or request a review, please do not hesitate to contact me in writing.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the
Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales) cannot make a decision unless
you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by this Council. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office (Wales), 2^nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way,
Cardiff, CF10 2HH. Telephone 029 2067 8400 or Fax 029 2067 8399 or e-mail
[1][email address].

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Rosie Seabourne BSc (Hons) Soc. Sciences

SENIOR BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICER COMPLAINTS/FOI/ UWCH SWYDDOG CYMORTH
BUSNES CWYNION / RHYDDID GWYBODAETH

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S SERVICE / GWASANAETH Y PRIF WEITHREDWR

TORFAEN COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL / CYNGOR BWRDEISTREF SIROL TORFAEN

Email / Ebost: [2][email address]

Phone/Ffon: 01633 647625

Fax/Facs: 01495 766331

[3]www.torfaen.gov.uk / [4]cid:image001.gif@01D25ADB.C2748700[5]Follow us
on Twitter / [6]cid:image002.gif@01D25ADB.C2748700[7]Find us on Facebook

This email is available in large print or Welsh upon request

 

'

show quoted sections

The
Council welcomes correspondence in Welsh and English. Correspondence
received in Welsh will be answered in Welsh and will not lead to any
delay.
**********************************************************************
Mae’r Cyngor yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg. Cewch ateb
Cymraeg i bob gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg ac ni fydd yn arwain i unrhyw oedi.'

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.torfaen.gov.uk/
4. http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
5. Follow Torfaen Council on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/torfaencouncil/
7. Torfaen Council Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/torfaen