Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q1 2020)

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

Dear South Kesteven District 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 71% 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

Customer Services, South Kesteven District Council

Dear Mr Chait,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Information Request Acknowledgement

Reference No: 1784433

Thank you for your request for information, this has been registered with us on 09/04/2020 09:09:26

Your request has now been assigned to the relevant department. We will aim to provide you with a response within 20 working days but may face some delays. This is due to emergency response to Covid-19 pandemic and the diversion of resources. In addition, some staff have been redeployed to critical services.

The council recognises the current rapidly evolving situation is causing uncertainty and we appreciate your support and understanding at this challenging time, as we endeavour to maintain services while protecting our staff and customers.

The Freedom of Information Act defines a number of exemptions, which may prevent us releasing the information you have requested. You will be informed if this is the case, and we will advise you of your rights of appeal.

If the information you requested contains reference to a third party, we may need to consult with them before a decision can be made about the information being released. You will be informed if this is the case.

If you require the response from us in an alternative format, e.g. language, audio, large print, etc. then please let us know.

Further information about the Freedom of Information Act is also available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk<http://www.ico.org.uk>

Yours sincerely
South Kesteven District Council
Customer Service Department
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The information contained in this e-mail along with any attachments may be confidential, legally privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. It is intended for the named individual(s) or entity who is/are the only authorised recipient(s). If this message has reached you in error please notify the sender immediately and delete it without review. Email is not secure and may contain viruses. We make every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions. We may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with our policies and English law.

Customer Services, South Kesteven District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Chait,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Information Request

Reference No: 1784433

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Please see attached the information you have requested.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact:

[South Kesteven District Council request email]

Further information about freedom of information is also available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Website: www.ico.org.uk

Yours sincerely

FOI Team,

SKDC

<a href="http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/coronavi...>
<img src="http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/kqucjwmn... alt="Here are some of the ways South Kesteven District Council is helping you when you need us the most">
</a>

The information contained in this e-mail along with any attachments may be confidential, legally privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. It is intended for the named individual(s) or entity who is/are the only authorised recipient(s). If this message has reached you in error please notify the sender immediately and delete it without review. Email is not secure and may contain viruses. We make every effort to ensure email is sent without viruses, but cannot guarantee this and recommends recipients take appropriate precautions. We may monitor email traffic data and content in accordance with our policies and English law.

Dear Customer Services,

Thank you for the response, however, this is not - as requested - a machine-readable CSV or Excel file. Please could you resend this as either of an Excel or CSV file?

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Chait