Information Request regarding Council Vehicle Fleet

The request was refused by Norfolk County Council.

Christopher Lehmann

Dear Norfolk County Council,

I'd be grateful if you can provide me with the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

1. A list of vehicles owned or leased to the council. Please include; registration mark, fleet number (if used), make & model and body type.

2. Identify which vehicles are owned and which are leased.

3. Name, position and email address of the staff responsible for these vehicles.

4. The estimated amount of spend (£) on diesel/petrol per annum and the cost split between owned and leased vehicles.

I trust all is in order and thank you in advance for your help.

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Lehmann

Freedom of Information, Norfolk County Council

5 Attachments

Good Afternoon,

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Information Request ENQ-391736-B3C2J9

 

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 received on 05 February 2020.
 
We have up to 20 working days in which to deal with your request. If we
require clarification regarding your request, we will contact you to
explain this. The 20 working day period will then start from the day that
we receive your clarification.
 
You will also be informed in advance if there is a charge for supplying
copies of the information.

 

Please also be aware that, if the requested information contains
references to any third parties, we may need to consult these individuals
about the release of their personal data before making a decision whether
or not to release the information to you.

 

We will also provide an explanation if any information is not released to
you.

 

Should you have any queries regarding your request, please contact the
team by email [1][email address] or by telephone
01603 222661.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sarah Cooper, Business Support Assistant

Information Compliance Team

Dept: 01603 222661

Bay 7-9, Ground Floor, County Hall, Norwich

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Freedom of Information, Norfolk County Council

6 Attachments

Dear Mr Lehmann

 

Freedom of Information Request ENQ- 391736-B3C2J9

 

I refer to your request for information dated 5 February 2020.

 

You asked for:

 

 1. A list of vehicles owned or leased to the council. Please include;
registration mark, fleet number (if used), make & model and body type.

 

Our response:

 

Please find the information requested on the attached Excel spreadsheet. 
Please note however that the vehicle registration mark has not been
provided, as this has been refused under Section 38 of the Freedom of
Information Act (FOI).

 

Section 38 provides a qualified exemption for release of information if
its disclosure would or would be likely to endanger the physical or mental
health of any individual or endanger the safety of any individual.  In
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a
Refusal Notice.

 

The exemption applies for the following reasons:

 

o We believe that to release this information could identify place
individuals in danger of harm.

 

Public Interest Test Reasons

 

The Council has considered whether the public interest is maintaining this
exemption is outweighed by the public interest in disclosure.

 

This Council has considered the following reasons in favour of disclosure:

o Promoting accountability and transparency by public authorities for
decisions taken by them.
o Promoting accountability and transparency in the spending of public
money.

 

Balanced against this are the following reasons against disclosure:

o Releasing this information could place employees, their families and
other occupants of the vehicle in danger of physical and emotional
harm and could compromise their safety which is not in the public
interest
o It is not necessary to disclose this information to enable the public
to understand and hold the authority accountable for its spending or
decision-making

On balance the Council considers that the public interest in maintaining
the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

 

 

 2. Identify which vehicles are owned and which are leased.

 

Our response:

 

Please see the attached Excel spreadsheet.

 

3. Name, position and email address of the staff responsible for these
vehicles.

 

Our response:

 

Your request has been considered and is refused. In accordance with the
Act, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

 

The County Council considers that the exemption under Section 40(2) of the
Act applies in this case. Section 40 provides that if the information
constitutes personal data about a third party and any of the data
protection principles would be contravened by the release of the
information, the County Council is not required to provide the
information.

 

Your request asks for the name of officers holding specific positions
within Norfolk County Council.

 

These individuals have a reasonable expectation that personal information
pertaining to them is not released without their consent for such
information to be released. This consent has not been provided. We
consider that releasing this information would therefore breach the fair
processing principle contained within the Data Protection Act.

 

We do not feel in this instance that there is any overriding public
interest consideration that would justify the disclosure of such personal
information. We also can see no purpose in disclosure, other than to form
the basis of a mailing list, for which there is no public interest.

 

For your assistance we have provided the team or department, the vehicle
is primarily used by.

 

4. The estimated amount of spend (£) on diesel/petrol per annum and the
cost split between owned and leased vehicles.

 

Our response:

         

Your request has been considered and is refused under section 12 of the
Act.  In accordance with the Act, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

 

This is because the cost of locating and retrieving the information
exceeds the "appropriate limit" of £450 as stated in the Freedom of
Information & Data Protection (Appropriate Limit & Fees) Regulations 2004.

 

This information is not available in a reportable format.  Information on
fuel spend is not split by vehicle. Therefore, each record of expenditure
on fuel would have to be manually reviewed to establish which vehicle it
was in reference to and then crossed referenced to the details requested
within this FOI,  which would be a huge undertaking, taking a significant
amount of time, well in excess of 18 hours of officer time. 

 

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the
cost of locating and retrieving the information to within the "appropriate
limit".  Please contact me if you would like some advice on refining your
request. 

 

 

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of your request you have the
right of appeal through the Council’s internal review procedure by setting
out the grounds of your appeal in writing to:

 

[1][email address]

or Information Compliance Team

Room 043

County Hall

Martineau Lane

Norwich

NR1 2DH

 

An appeal should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of this
notice and should be identified as "FOI Appeal".

 

If you are dissatisfied after pursuing the complaints procedure, you may
apply to the Information Commissioner under Section 50 of the Act for a
decision whether your request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of Part I of the Act.  Refer to the ICO
Website at: [2]https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ for advice on how to report a
concern.  Or you can write to them at:

 

First Contact Team

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane, Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Yours sincerely

 

Bev Whittaker, Information Compliance Officer 

Information Management 

Tel: 01603 638017 | Dept: 01603 222661

Bays 7,8 & 9, Ground Floor, South Wing, County Hall, Martineau Lane,
Norwich 

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From: Freedom of Information
Sent: 05 February 2020 16:15
To: 'Christopher Lehmann' <[FOI #643531 email]>
Subject: ENQ-391736-B3C2J9 Freedom of Information request - Information
Request regarding Council Vehicle Fleet

 

Good Afternoon,

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Information Request ENQ-391736-B3C2J9

 

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 received on 05 February 2020.
 
We have up to 20 working days in which to deal with your request. If we
require clarification regarding your request, we will contact you to
explain this. The 20 working day period will then start from the day that
we receive your clarification.
 
You will also be informed in advance if there is a charge for supplying
copies of the information.

 

Please also be aware that, if the requested information contains
references to any third parties, we may need to consult these individuals
about the release of their personal data before making a decision whether
or not to release the information to you.

 

We will also provide an explanation if any information is not released to
you.

 

Should you have any queries regarding your request, please contact the
team by email [8][email address] or by telephone
01603 222661.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Sarah Cooper, Business Support Assistant

Information Compliance Team

Dept: 01603 222661

Bay 7-9, Ground Floor, County Hall, Norwich

[9]Norfolk County Council   [10]Twitter[11]Facebook[12]Web

[13]Campaign Logo

 

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