Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q4 2017)

The request was successful.

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

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 more than 53% of local authorities already 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

Freedom of Information, Teignbridge District Council

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request.  If your request is
deemed valid, a response will be provided within 20 working days subject
to the information not being exempt from the provisions of the Act.   

The Act is not all encompassing, so it is our normal practice to inform
you if it falls within an exemption which may prevent release. If the
information you request contains reference to a third party then they may
be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release
the information to you. You will be informed if this is the case. 

Please note that information relating to schools, education, trading
standards, social care (e.g. care homes) and highways is held by Devon
County Council and your request should be re-directed to them.  Their
email address is: [1][email address]

 

Freedom of Information Officer

Teignbridge District Council

Forde House

Brunel Road

Newton Abbot

TQ12 4XX

 

DX 121075 Newton Abbot 5

Tel: 01626 215159

Email: [2][Teignbridge District Council request email] 

[3]www.teignbridge.gov.uk

 

Save time and do it online [4]www.teignbridge.gov.uk

[5]Email disclaimer

[6]Teignbridge: Highly Commended ‘Outstanding Strategic Local Authority of
the Year’ - UK Housing Awards 2017

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Teignbridge District Council request email]
3. http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/
4. http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/
5. http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/emaildiscl...
6. https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/

Freedom of Information, Teignbridge District Council

1 Attachment

Please see attached.

Dear Freedom of Information,

Thank you so much for the data provided, however the billing authority reference number, which I use to match your data to the VOA master list, is not included.

Please could you update this and provide an updated version of your data.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin Chait

Freedom of Information, Teignbridge District Council

We publish our business rate information, updating it on a regular basis. Therefore we are refusing this request under Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act as the information is published on a quarterly basis. Officers will investigate, when the next data set is due, whether the software will enable the download of the additional data requested.

The public interest test has been considered and as the information is updated periodically, and resource is better utilised elsewhere within the authority, it is not appropriate to create the dataset outside of the usual scheduled slot.

If you disagree with this response you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner (ICO). The Information Commissioner can be contacted for a copy of their complaint form at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, www.ico.gov.uk or by telephone 0303 123 1113.

FOI Officer

Dear Teignbridge District Council,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Teignbridge District Council's handling of my FOI request 'Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q4 2017)'.

On 10 October 2017, I sent an FOI request for a complete and up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data, 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)

My request was refused in terms of Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act, stating that "the information is published on a quarterly basis."

Further: "The public interest test has been considered and as the information is updated periodically, and resource is better utilised elsewhere within the authority, it is not appropriate to create the dataset outside of the usual scheduled slot."

Here's the problem with that response: I have made this exact same request to you on three separate occasions since 15 March 2016.

- https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
- https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
- https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Each time I have been told that, based on your quarterly update schedule, I will receive the revised data - including the billing authority reference - on the next release. And each time this commitment has been ignored.

Please could you review this situation and advise if you ever intend to update your data with the requested fields and, if not, what the reasons are for not doing so.

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

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

Freedom of Information, Teignbridge District Council

Thank you for your Freedom of Information Request.  If your request is
deemed valid, a response will be provided within 20 working days subject
to the information not being exempt from the provisions of the Act.   

The Act is not all encompassing, so it is our normal practice to inform
you if it falls within an exemption which may prevent release. If the
information you request contains reference to a third party then they may
be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release
the information to you. You will be informed if this is the case. 

Please note that information relating to schools, education, trading
standards, social care (e.g. care homes) and highways is held by Devon
County Council and your request should be re-directed to them.  Their
email address is: [1][email address]

 

Freedom of Information Officer

Teignbridge District Council

Forde House

Brunel Road

Newton Abbot

TQ12 4XX

 

DX 121075 Newton Abbot 5

Tel: 01626 215159

Email: [2][Teignbridge District Council request email] 

[3]www.teignbridge.gov.uk

 

Save time and do it online [4]www.teignbridge.gov.uk

[5]Email disclaimer

[6]Teignbridge: Highly Commended ‘Outstanding Strategic Local Authority of
the Year’ - UK Housing Awards 2017

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Teignbridge District Council request email]
3. http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/
4. http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/
5. http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/emaildiscl...
6. https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/

Freedom of Information, Teignbridge District Council

1 Attachment

Please find attached an amended response.

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