Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information

Dear Lydia,

Freedom of Information (ref 586)

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 586.

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 14/02/2022. 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

-------------------------------------------------------------
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

Rhyddid Gwybodaeth / Freedom of Information

Dear Lydia,

Freedom of Information (ref 586)

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

2^nd Floor

Churchill House

Churchill Way

Cardiff

CF102HH

Telephone: 02920 678400

Email: [1][email address]

Fax: 02920 678399

Yours sincerely,
Gwawr Owen

-------------------------------------------------------------
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]