Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information

Dear Calum,

Freedom of Information (ref 647)

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

Your request has been passed to me to process and I can confirm that it
has been logged under the reference number 647.

The Council may take up to 20 working days, from the date of receipt, to
respond to your request. You should therefore receive the information you
have requested, subject to the application of any exemptions permitted
under the Act, by 14/02/2023. If you require further information please
contact me by phone on 01286 679468 or by emailing
[1][email address].cymru by quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely,
Gwawr Owen

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Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiad iddo yn gyfrinachol ac fe'i bwriedir ar
gyfer y sawl a enwir arno yn unig. Gall gynnwys gwybodaeth freintiedig. Os
yw wedi eich cyrraedd trwy gamgymeriad ni ellwch ei gopio, ei ddosbarthu
na'i ddangos i unrhyw un arall a dylech gysylltu â'r anfonwr ar unwaith.
Mae unrhyw gynnwys nad yw'n ymwneud â busnes swyddogol y corff sy'n anfon
yr e-bost yn bersonol i'r awdur.

Gall cynnwys yr e-bost hwn gael ei ddatgelu yn unol â gofynion
deddfwriaeth mewn perthynas â prosesu a rheoli data, sydd yn cynnwys y
GDPR, Deddf Diogelu Data 2018 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000.

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Arbedwch bapur, ynni ac arian - Peidiwch argraffu'r neges yma oni bai ei
bod yn hollol angenrheidiol.
Save paper, energy and money - Do not print this message unless it is
absolutely necessary.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address].cymru

Dear Calum,

Freedom of Information (Ref T647)

Thank you for your recent request. Please see below for the information requested:

Information relating to the list of licensed HMOs is being withheld under Section 40(2) of the FOIA which provides that information is exempt from disclosure if it is the personal data of an individual other than the requester and where one of the conditions listed in section 40(3A), (3B) or 40(4A) is satisfied.

Section 40(3A)(a) applies where the disclosure of the information to any member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles as set out in Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation (‘GDPR’).

The first test is to determine whether or not the information is personal data. The Council considers the information to be personal data, as it relates to living individuals.

The second element of the test is to determine whether disclosure would contravene any of the DP principles.

The most relevant DP principle in this case is principle (a).
Article 5(1)(a) of the GDPR states that:
“Personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject”.

In the case of an FOIA request, the personal data is processed when it is disclosed in response to the request. The disclosure of personal data to a wider audience online is unlikely to fall within the reasonable expectations of those whose personal data is contained in the register itself. Therefore this contravenes that the information can only be disclosed if to do so would be lawful, fair and transparent, and in this case the individuals do not expect their details to be disclosed online.

In order to be lawful, one of the lawful bases listed in Article 6(1) of the GDPR must apply to the processing.

The lawful basis most applicable is basis 6(1)(f) which states:
“processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child”

In considering the application of Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR in the context of a request for information under the FOIA, it is necessary to consider the following three-part test:-

i) Legitimate interest test: Whether a legitimate interest is being pursued in the request for information;
ii) Necessity test: Whether disclosure of the information is necessary to meet the legitimate interest in question;
iii) Balancing test: Whether the above interests override the legitimate interest(s) or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject.

The legitimate interest must be for the world at large and not the individual requester. It is not clear what the interest is in disclosing list as the individuals on the list do not expect their details to be disclosed online.

The Council does not consider disclosure to be necessary since the legitimate interest is not clear and since there is no lawful basis for this processing it is unlawful and does not meet the requirement of principle (a).

The disclosed information may contain copyright material, and notwithstanding Gwynedd Council’s disclosure the document may still be copyright protected. It is important for you to respect any copyright status that may attach to a particular document. Fair dealing provisions allow information to be used in certain ways without infringing copyright. This allows the contents to be debated publicly. Fair dealing allows disclosure to serve the public interest of increasing accountability and transparency. Of particular importance is the provision which allows the criticism, review or news reporting of copyright information.

A detailed account of the provisions may be found in the Guidance Note 20201023 “Intellectual property rights and disclosures under the FOIA” on the Information Commissioner’s website

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way the Council has handled your request, you may ask for an internal review. Please contact me if you require an internal review of your case. An internal review will be conducted by the Monitoring Officer or Head of Service and we will aim to respond within 20 working days. However, if we are unable to complete the review by this date, we will advise you accordingly.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please see below for the contact details:

Information Commissioner’s Office
2nd Floor
Churchill House
Churchill Way
Cardiff
CF102HH

Telephone: 02920 678400
Email: [email address]
Fax: 02920 678399

Yours sincerely,

Lisa Marie Williams
Cymhorthydd Cefnogol/Support Assistant
Cefnogaeth Gorfforaethol/Corporate Support
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Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw atodiad iddo yn gyfrinachol ac fe'i bwriedir ar gyfer y sawl a enwir arno yn unig. Gall gynnwys gwybodaeth freintiedig. Os yw wedi eich cyrraedd trwy gamgymeriad ni ellwch ei gopio, ei ddosbarthu na'i ddangos i unrhyw un arall a dylech gysylltu â'r anfonwr ar unwaith.
Mae unrhyw gynnwys nad yw'n ymwneud â busnes swyddogol y corff sy'n anfon yr e-bost yn bersonol i'r awdur.

Gall cynnwys yr e-bost hwn gael ei ddatgelu yn unol â gofynion deddfwriaeth mewn perthynas â prosesu a rheoli data, sydd yn cynnwys y GDPR, Deddf Diogelu Data 2018 a Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000.

dangos adrannau a ddyfynnir

Arbedwch bapur, ynni ac arian - Peidiwch argraffu'r neges yma oni bai ei bod yn hollol angenrheidiol.
Save paper, energy and money - Do not print this message unless it is absolutely necessary.