Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data

The request was refused by West Somerset District Council.

Dear West Somerset District Council,

In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, 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 Code
- 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)

I am aware that you already do provide listings of most of these business rates data but there are severe data quality issues with your existing published datasets. It is critical that the Billing Authority Code be correct otherwise I am unable to reconcile your data with the Valuations Office master list. Currently your codes are incorrect (or have been abbreviated such that they're unusable).

I appreciate that properties owned / rented by individuals are personal information and such personal data (i.e. the Firm's Trading Name) would be excluded from my request in terms of Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. In such cases, please provide the remaining information with the Firm's Trading Name either blank or listed as 'individual'.

Please provide this as machine-readable as either a CSV or Microsoft Excel file, capable of re-use, and under terms of the Open Government Licence.

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

FOI - West Somerset,

1 Attachment

 

 

Dear Requester

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Information Request FOI – WS840

 

Acknowledgement

 

Thank you for your request for information. Your request was received on15
March 2016 and it will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

 

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days,
starting from the first working day after we received your request, unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. We will write to you in any event.

 

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case we will
let you know before we send any information to you.

 

Any charge made for FOI requests will be made in line with the national
FOI fees regulations and our locally set disbursement costs (printing,
photocopying and postage).

 

If the cost of

 

·                     determining whether the information is held;

·                     locating the information, or a document containing
it;

·                     retrieving the information, or a document containing
it; and

·                     extracting the information from a document
containing it

 

does not exceed £450 (equivalent to 18 hours work) there will be no
charge, other than possibly for disbursements.  Disbursement costs will
not be charged if the total is under £5 - above this, we will charge the
full amount, including the initial £5.

 

If the cost (excluding disbursements) exceeds £450 (which is known as the
‘appropriate limit’) we will charge for all the hours (including the first
18 hours)  at a rate of £25 per hour - alternatively, we will assist you
in refining the request to within 18 hours to ensure no charge will be
incurred (other than possibly for disbursements).

 

Where a fee is involved, we will issue a fees notice requesting payment -
the FOI request will not progress until the fees have been paid. The 20
working-day target for responding to requests will not begin until any
fees are paid

 

Please be aware that we may publish requests and responses to requests for
information made under the FOIA on our website. However, we would withhold
any personal details of the requestor (e.g. their name, address, email
address and telephone number).  

 

If you have any queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact
us using this email address. Please remember to quote the reference number
above in any future communications about this request.

 

Further information regarding Freedom of Information is available from:

 

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

 

Tel No: 01625 545700

Fax No: 01625 545510

 

[1]WWW.ICO.ORG.UK

 

The information Commissioner’s Office have produced a helpful guide
regarding fees which is [2]available here.

 

Regards

 

FOI Administration Desk

Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council

 

 

show quoted sections

FOI - West Somerset,

3 Attachments

 

Dear Requester

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Information Request FOI – WS840

 

Response

 

This is West Somerset Council’s response to your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000.

 

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
requested is attached.

 

I would draw your attention to the Copyright notice at the end of this
email.

 

If you are not satisfied with this response you may ask the Council to
undertake a review of the response.

 

An applicant must submit a request for a review no later than 40 working
days from the date of receipt of our response.  Please submit any request
for a review to [1][email address] or by writing to
The Freedom of Information Officer, West Somerset Council, West Somerset
House, Killick Way, Williton, Taunton, Somerset TA4 4QA.

 

We will undertake an internal review and issue a response within 20
working days of receiving a request for an internal review. The 20 days
will commence on the first working day after the day on which we receive
your request.

 

It will help us deal with any request for a review if you explain clearly
the reasons for disagreeing with the Council’s decision.

 

Should you remain dissatisfied after that review you can appeal against
the decision by contacting the Information Commissioner:

 

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel No: 01625 545700
Fax No: 01625 545510

 

Regards

 

FOI Administration Desk

Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council

 

Copyright and the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations

 

Most of the information that we provide in response to Freedom of
Information Act 2000 requests will be subject to copyright protection. In
most cases the copyright will be owned by West Somerset Council. The
copyright in other information may be owned by another person or
organisation, as indicated in the information itself.

 

You are free to use any information supplied for your own use, including
for non-commercial research purposes. The information may also be used for
the purposes of news reporting. However, any other type of re-use, for
example, by publishing the information or issuing copies to the public
will require the permission of the copyright owner.

 

For information where the copyright is owned by West Somerset Council
please submit a request in writing stating:-

 

·                     Name and address of applicant requiring permission
for re-use of the information

 

·                     Full details of the document/information required
for re-use sufficient for the Council to identify it

 

·                     The purpose for which the document/information is to
be re-used

 

For information where the copyright is owned by another person or
organisation, you must apply to the copyright owner to obtain their
permission.

 

 

 

From: FOI - West Somerset
Sent: 15 March 2016 15:52
To: [FOI #322515 email]
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Complete Non-Residential /
Business Property Rates Data - ref. WS840

 

 

 

Dear Requester

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Information Request FOI – WS840

 

Acknowledgement

 

Thank you for your request for information. Your request was received on15
March 2016 and it will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

 

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days,
starting from the first working day after we received your request, unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. We will write to you in any event.

 

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case we will
let you know before we send any information to you.

 

Any charge made for FOI requests will be made in line with the national
FOI fees regulations and our locally set disbursement costs (printing,
photocopying and postage).

 

If the cost of

 

·                     determining whether the information is held;

·                     locating the information, or a document containing
it;

·                     retrieving the information, or a document containing
it; and

·                     extracting the information from a document
containing it

 

does not exceed £450 (equivalent to 18 hours work) there will be no
charge, other than possibly for disbursements.  Disbursement costs will
not be charged if the total is under £5 - above this, we will charge the
full amount, including the initial £5.

 

If the cost (excluding disbursements) exceeds £450 (which is known as the
‘appropriate limit’) we will charge for all the hours (including the first
18 hours)  at a rate of £25 per hour - alternatively, we will assist you
in refining the request to within 18 hours to ensure no charge will be
incurred (other than possibly for disbursements).

 

Where a fee is involved, we will issue a fees notice requesting payment -
the FOI request will not progress until the fees have been paid. The 20
working-day target for responding to requests will not begin until any
fees are paid

 

Please be aware that we may publish requests and responses to requests for
information made under the FOIA on our website. However, we would withhold
any personal details of the requestor (e.g. their name, address, email
address and telephone number).  

 

If you have any queries or concerns then please do not hesitate to contact
us using this email address. Please remember to quote the reference number
above in any future communications about this request.

 

Further information regarding Freedom of Information is available from:

 

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

 

Tel No: 01625 545700

Fax No: 01625 545510

 

[2]WWW.ICO.ORG.UK

 

The information Commissioner’s Office have produced a helpful guide
regarding fees which is [3]available here.

 

Regards

 

FOI Administration Desk

Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI - West Somerset,

Thank you very much for the data. I have a few queries.

1. The field 'Vacation Date': does that imply that the property has been vacant since that date?
2. What is the 'Source Ref' as it does not appear to cross-reference to the Valuations Office Billing Authority Code? Could you please include a valid Billing Authority Code so that such cross-referencing can be done?

Finally, I do intend to use these data commercially.

The purpose of our use of the data requested is in informing entrepreneurs and business seekers about opportunities in empty premises when they are advertised for new tenants. Further details on our activities are available at http://pikhaya.com, but our activity is supported by the Open Data Institute and we have received funding from the EU Open Data Incubator to develop this service.

According to the Information Commissioners Office, "RPSI is intended to encourage re-use of public sector information" - https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/gui... In addition, organisations "may impose conditions on re-use but the conditions must be as open and non-restrictive as possible. The easiest way to do this is to use the Open Government Licence."

Could you please advise if you are able to release these under the UK Open Government License so that I am able to republish?

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Chait

FOI - West Somerset,

1 Attachment

 

Dear Mr Chait

 

Freedom of Information Request Reference:  WS840.  The responses to your
follow up questions are provided below:

 

 

The data our website for business rates for FOI is supplied in accordance
with definitions provided through the HMRC which are:

 

o Vacation Date – “If applicable, the date on which the proprietor
vacated the premises.”
o Source Ref. – “If available, a reference number from your accounting
system to identify the record (in case we need to contact you about
it)”.

 

The source reference we quote is the account number.

 

The information may be published under the terms of the UK Open Government
License.

 

 

Regards

 

FOI Administration Desk

Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council

 

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI - West Somerset,

Thanks very much for the clarification.

Is it possible to include the Billing Authority Reference instead, or along with, the Source Ref. I want to cross-reference your data with that from the Valuations Office and that appears to be the best way to do so (unless you have the UARN they use as well).

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Chait

FOI - West Somerset,

Dear Mr Chait

 

In response to your question below, the account number provided is our
billing authority reference.  If you require us to supply the Unique
Address Reference Number (UARN) from the Valuation Office Agency, this is
not something that our reporting system is able to provide at present,
although it is something we may be able to do later this year.

 

Yours sincerely

 

FOI Administration Desk

Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI - West Somerset,

If the Source Ref. is meant to be the Billing Authority Reference, that's fine. However, I cannot get these to work. As a brief example:

Source Ref. 80000008 (for the first row of your data) has postcode TA4 4EQ. There are a number of commercial properties listed in this postcode, but the most likely Billing Authority reference is 801111000005 (for a hall and premises).

In other words, whatever the Source Ref. is, it isn't permitting a direct lookup between your data and that of the Valuations Office.

Sorry to be pedantic on this, but without the correct reference number we're unable to do the reconciliation.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Chait

FOI - West Somerset,

Dear Mr Chait

 

Our Revenues and Benefits department has provided the following response
to your email of 30 March 2016:

 

As stated previously the billing authority reference we have provided is
the account number. I understand you may not be able to complete direct
lookup between the billing authority reference (the account number) and
the  data held by the Valuations Office and this is possibly because the
Valuation Officer may be using the Unique  Address Reference Number
(UARN).

 

As we have already explained, at present our reporting system is unable to
report on the Unique Property Number that is held by the Valuation Office.
We are working to resolve this, but I regret we cannot provide this
information at present without the need for manual intervention and
expense that would considerably exceed the limitations stated in the
Freedom of Information Act.  I am sorry, but we cannot assist you further
on this enquiry.

 

Regards

FOI Admin

 

show quoted sections

Dear FOI - West Somerset,

Apologies for taking a little while to get back to you but I was conferring with the VOA regarding the references you provided. I am still unclear as to what numbers you have provided, but they are not the Valuations Office Billing Authority Reference.

Using the first property in the first row (as before), which you list as Source Ref. 80000008 . The property has postcode TA4 4EQ and you can view the data that the VOA uses to identify this property here: http://www.2010.voa.gov.uk/rli/en/basic/...

The details from the VOA are (and the address, at least, is the same):

Address of property: 2, DASHWOODS LANE, BICKNOLLER, TAUNTON, SOMERSET, TA4 4EQ
Description: HALL AND PREMISES
Billing authority: WEST SOMERSET
Billing authority reference: 801111000005
Special category code: 293 - Village Halls, Scout Huts, Cadet Huts Etc
Valuation scheme reference: 99993

We have access to the full VOA database, and this provides two additional reference codes:

UARN: 104852183
Association ref: 10111235000

None of these align with the reference (80000008) provided, and all of the reference numbers you provided follow this same form. My concern is that you have potentially provided me with the account numbers for each ratepayer which would normally be regarded as confidential.

I have tried telephoning to discuss this and see if I can understand, but have not had any success contacting anyone at the District Council. I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this directly, or if you can please review this against the VOA list and verify why your Billing Authority ref is completely different from theirs.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Chait

FOI - West Somerset,

1 Attachment

 

Dear Requester

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Information Request FOI – WS840

 

Response

 

This is West Somerset Council’s response to your request under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000.

 

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
requested is below:-

 

I regret that after many hours of extracting various reports from our
system and attempting to get the data to provide the information requested
by yourself, we have been unsuccessful.  We simply do not have the
technology that will allow us to provide the information you seek.  As
explained previously, we are hoping that later this year we will be
acquiring enhancements to our reporting system that will allow us to
provide this data for West Somerset Council.  Unfortunately, until we do
get the technology, there is nothing further that we can do.

 

If you are not satisfied with this response you may ask the Council to
undertake a review of the response.

 

An applicant must submit a request for a review no later than 40 working
days from the date of receipt of our response.  Please submit any request
for a review to [1][email address] or by writing to
The Freedom of Information Officer, West Somerset Council, West Somerset
House, Killick Way, Williton, Taunton, Somerset TA4 4QA.

 

We will undertake an internal review and issue a response within 20
working days of receiving a request for an internal review. The 20 days
will commence on the first working day after the day on which we receive
your request.

 

It will help us deal with any request for a review if you explain clearly
the reasons for disagreeing with the Council’s decision.

 

Should you remain dissatisfied after that review you can appeal against
the decision by contacting the Information Commissioner.

 

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel No: 01625 545700
Fax No: 01625 545510

 

Regards

 

FOI Administration Desk

Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset Council

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Gavin Chait left an annotation ()

I have no idea what's going on with their data. As you can see from the correspondence, I'm not entirely sure what to make of the problem...