Request Reference 276
Please find, below, our response to your request for information of 21st December 2018.
Request:
Please supply al data held in connection with the above posting which should include but is not
limited to:
1. Al emails between the PCC's office, including the PCC and any of his staff, and the chief constable,
or her staff officer or PA. (Information attached).
2. All emails between the PCC's office, including the PCC and any of his staff, and the chief executive
of the College of Policing, or his personal assistant or Jo Noakes. (No information held).
3. Any notes in the PCC's diary, day book or the like concerning the Memorandum of Understanding.
(No information held).
4. Any data that assists in the public's wider understanding over the change in the characterisation
of the role as a 'flexible attachment' when it had previously been referred to repeatedly in the local
press, and by the West Yorkshire Police (WYP) press office, as a 'secondment'. (Attached, in
response to Q1).
5. Any data that assists in the public's understanding over the change in the timescales. It was
reported in the local press, and by the WYP press office, that the secondment would begin in
January, 2019. It actual y began on 3rd December, 2018. (No information held).
6. Any data that assists in the public's understanding of the rationale behind the PCC al owing the
chief constable to take up this post. Albeit on a cost neutral basis. (Attached decision notice).
Response:
Under the Freedom of Information Act individuals have a right to be informed whether the Office of
the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) holds the information requested and, if so, to have that
information communicated to them.
Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act states that:
(1) A public authority which, in relation to a request for information is, to any extent, relying on
a claim that any provision of Part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is relevant to any
request or on a claim that information is exempt information must…give the applicant notice
which:
a. States the fact.
b. Specifies the exemption in question, and
c. States …why the exemption applies.
Information which constitutes personal information of requester and other parties has been
removed from disclosure because we believe that an exemption under S40(1) and (2) of the FOI Act
applies.
Section 40(1) Personal Information
S40(1) of the FOI Act states that information is exempt from disclosure if it is personal information of
which the applicant is the data subject.
Section 40(2) Personal Information
S40(2) of the FOI Act states that information is exempt from disclosure if it is personal information of
other parties, disclosure of which would contravene any of the Data Protection Principles.
The Data Protection Act 2018 defines personal information as:
‘
any information relating to an identified or identifiable living individual’
The relevant data protection principle is that information must be processed lawfully, fairly and in a
transparent manner (Article 5, 1(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018).
Personal information may only be disclosed if to do so would be lawful, ie, if it would meet one of
the conditions of lawful processing listed in Article 6(1) of the GDPR, and be fair and transparent.
Article 6(1) of the GDPR specifies the requirements for lawful processing by providing that
‘
processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that at least one of the’ conditions listed in the
Article applies.
Some personal information relating to the requester and third parties (staff) has been redacted from
this disclosure in order to avoid a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018, because we believe that
disclosure would be unlawful and unfair on the basis that consent has not been given to the
disclosure. Some personal information, the email addresses and telephone numbers of specific
individuals, has been assessed against the ‘legitimate interests’ lawful basis as follows.
Under Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR disclosure of personal information may be made where the
disclosure
‘is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the control er 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 this case, personal information in terms of the email addresses and telephone numbers for
specific individuals has been redacted. The legitimate interest in disclosure of this information
relates to a general principle of accountability and transparency and an interest in senior public
figures being accessible to members of the public. We have concluded that disclosure is not
necessary in order to achieve this interest. The names of senior officers are being disclosed and
email and telephone contact information for the OPCC and West Yorkshire Police is available on the
respective websites. As disclosure is not necessary in order to meet the legitimate interest a
balancing test of the rights of the data subjects against the legitimate interest has not been carried
out.
This is an absolute exemption and does not require a public interest test.
REVIEW RIGHTS
If you consider that your request for information has not been handled properly or if you are
otherwise dissatisfied with the outcome of your request, you may seek an internal review within the
Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner of the issue or the decision. I am attaching a copy of
our appeal policy.
A request for internal review should be submitted in writing to the Interim Chief Executive, Office of
the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, Ploughland House, 62 George Street,
Wakefield, WF1 1DL.
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of any internal review you may complain to the
Information Commissioner for a decision on whether your request for information has been dealt
with in accordance with the FOI Act. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at the Office
of the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Document Outline