Request for information relating to the Forestry Commission's investigation of the felling of healthy highway trees in Sheffield

The request was refused by Sheffield City Council.

Dear Sheffield City Council,

I understand from a report in The Yorkshire Post on 23rd June 2018 that The Forestry Commission is investigating the lawfulness of the felling of healthy highway trees in Sheffield and the legal requirement for a licence from The Forestry Commission.

Please provide copies and records of all the Councils's internal and external communications and any other documents to date (14th August 2018) that relate to this investigation and the requirement for a licence, including but not exclusive to: The Forestry Commission, South Yorkshire Police, Amey Hallam Highways Ltd, Amey LG Ltd, Acorn Environmental Management Group and any other authorities, bodies, companies or individuals. Subject to reasonable redaction adhering to the relevant statutory provision.

Many thanks

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Buxton

FOI, Sheffield City Council

Dear Mr. Buxton,
 
Thank you for your recent request for information relating to Information
relating to the Forestry Commission's investigation of the felling of
healthy highway trees in Sheffield which we received on 14/08/18.
 
This has been logged as a Freedom of Information Request, and will be
dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act.  The reference number for
your request can be found above.
 
The Freedom of Information Act states that we must respond to you within
20 working days, therefore, you should expect to hear a response from us
by 12/09/18.
 
In the meantime, if you have any queries please, contact us at the email
address below.
 
Thank you.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Sheffield City Council
PO Box 1283
Sheffield, S1 1UJ
Email: [1][Sheffield City Council request email]
P Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to
 
_____________________________________________
From: Mr. Buxton [[2]mailto:[FOI #509971 email]]
Sent: 14 August 2018 21:04
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Request for information relating
to the Forestry Commission's investigation of the felling of healthy
highway trees in Sheffield
 
Dear Sheffield City Council,
 
I understand from a report in The Yorkshire Post on 23rd June 2018 that
The Forestry Commission is investigating the lawfulness of the felling of
healthy highway trees in Sheffield and the legal requirement for a licence
from The Forestry Commission.
 
Please provide copies and records of all the Councils's internal and
external communications and any other documents to date (14th August 2018)
that relate to this investigation and the requirement for a licence,
including but not exclusive to: The Forestry Commission, South Yorkshire
Police, Amey Hallam Highways Ltd, Amey LG Ltd, Acorn Environmental
Management Group and any other authorities, bodies, companies or
individuals. Subject to reasonable redaction adhering to the relevant
statutory provision.
 
Many thanks
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Mr. Buxton
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #509971 email]
 
Is [4][Sheffield City Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Sheffield City Council? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[5]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
 
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[6]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
 
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
 
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
 
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
 
 

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FOI, Sheffield City Council

Dear Mr. Buxton,
 
Thank you for your recent request for information relating to Information
relating to the Forestry Commission's investigation of the felling of
healthy highway trees in Sheffield which we received on 14/08/18.
 
Please find below, Sheffield City Council’s response to your request:
 
Further to your request for information on the Forestry Commission's
investigation of the felling of healthy highway trees in Sheffield; as the
investigation is ongoing the information held by the Council which is
captured by your request is exempt from disclosure as it meets an
exemption from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000(FOI)
as detailed below:
 
FOI Section 31(1)(c) – Law enforcement
 
In this case, as the Forestry Commission investigation is ongoing and
could lead to criminal charges against the Council, we believe disclosure
of any related materials would prejudice “the administration of justice”.
We consider that application of the exemption at this point will protect
the Council from prejudice of the Forestry Commission’s investigation and
the Council’s own defence in any later proceedings. It is considered that
the Council has a legitimate right to exempt the information held and
captured by your request in order to retain the presumption of privacy
before any charges are made.
 
Although the documentation held will be related to felled trees rather
than living elements in the environment we appreciate that the practical
application of felling operations will affect the environment and thus we
consider the following exception under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (EIR) also applies to this request:
 
EIR 12(5)(b) - the course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a
fair trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an inquiry of a
criminal or disciplinary nature
 
As with the application of Section 31 we consider that disclosure would
adversely affect the Councils ability to receive a fair trial and to seek
protection for information which is legally privileged.
 
Application of the Public Interest Test
 
Under the FOI, there are two types of exemption, “Qualified Exemptions”
and “Absolute Exemptions”. When applying an exemption to information that
is requested, if the exemption is a “Qualified Exemption”, then we are
required to carry out a Public Interest Test as in the case of Section 31.
The EIR also require the consideration and communication of the Public
Interest Test in regard the application of exceptions.
 
Public interest arguments in favour of disclosing the information held
 
The disclosure of the information serves the general public interest in
promotion of better government through transparency, accountability,
public debate, better understanding of decisions, and informed and
meaningful participation of the public democratic process.
 
Disclosing the details of communications related to the Forestry
Commission investigation may help the public:
 

* Understand the contact so far on the matter
* Be aware of the scope and details of the investigation
* Identify if the investigation may assist current campaigns against the
Council’s tree maintenance programme
* Consider the validity of onward private litigation against the Council

 
Public interest arguments in favour of maintaining the exemption
 
In contrast, there is a strong public interest in maintaining the
exemption in avoiding likely prejudice to the administration of justice
and the Council’s ability to prepare for and face a fair trial.
 
We also consider the disclosure of related information could:
 

* Release legally privileged information which is afforded specific
protection under FOI
* Harm the Council’s ability to defend any future charges and conversely
potentially prejudice the Forestry Commission’s ability to conclude
their investigation
* Breach the underlying legal principle of the presumption of privacy
before charge

 
In this case we consider that the harm of prejudice to the Council’s
ability to receive a fair trial and the Forestry Commission’s
investigation is sufficient in isolation to balance the test in favour of
the application of the exemption/exception.
 
We also note that the information requested would also contain legally
privileged communications and be further protected under Section 42 FOI.
 
If you have any queries about this response, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
 
If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your
request, you are entitled to have this reviewed.  You can ask for an
internal review by either writing to the above address or by emailing
[1][Sheffield City Council request email].  Internal review requests should be submitted
within 40 working days from the date of this response.
 
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your internal review, you
can contact the Information Commissioners Office. The Information
Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 0303
123 1113, or for further details see their website [2]www.ico.org.uk
 
Kind Regards,
 
Sheffield City Council
PO Box 1283
Sheffield, S1 1UJ
Email: [3][Sheffield City Council request email]
P Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to
 
_____________________________________________
From: Mr. Buxton [[4]mailto:[FOI #509971 email]]
Sent: 14 August 2018 21:04
To: FOI
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Request for information relating
to the Forestry Commission's investigation of the felling of healthy
highway trees in Sheffield
 
Dear Sheffield City Council,
 
I understand from a report in The Yorkshire Post on 23rd June 2018 that
The Forestry Commission is investigating the lawfulness of the felling of
healthy highway trees in Sheffield and the legal requirement for a licence
from The Forestry Commission.
 
Please provide copies and records of all the Councils's internal and
external communications and any other documents to date (14th August 2018)
that relate to this investigation and the requirement for a licence,
including but not exclusive to: The Forestry Commission, South Yorkshire
Police, Amey Hallam Highways Ltd, Amey LG Ltd, Acorn Environmental
Management Group and any other authorities, bodies, companies or
individuals. Subject to reasonable redaction adhering to the relevant
statutory provision.
 
Many thanks
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Mr. Buxton
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #509971 email]
 
Is [6][Sheffield City Council request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Sheffield City Council? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[7]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
 
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[8]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...
 
For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:
[9]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...
 
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.
 
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
 
 

show quoted sections