Our Ref: 9020  

Dear Enquirer,

INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request for information which will be dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this matter please contact us. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Please note, that due to the recent outbreak of Covid-19, there may be a
delay in responding to your request. We appreciate your patience at this
busy period.

Kind regards

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Our Ref: 9020   

Dear Enquirer, 
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 
 
I refer to your for Freedom of Information request for details of Deaths
with no known next of kin. 
 
Right of Access 
 
Section 1(1) of the Act provides any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled. 
 
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request (which Section
1(6) of the Act designates as the "duty to confirm or deny"), and 
 
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him. 
 
The right is to obtain access to the information itself and not to the
document or record which contains it. 
 
The Act creates a general right of access to information held by public
authorities subject to various exemptions. 
 
Duty to confirm or deny 
 
Northumberland County Council neither confirms nor denies whether it holds
the information you have requested. 

Please could you kindly send me any information you may hold relating to
persons who are/were known to the Council via any of the following
teams and who have died with: 
- no  known next of kin (defined as blood relatives) OR 
- where you have been unable to engage with or locate any KNOWN next of
kin,  

Please provide details of cases that have occurred or come to your
attention since 1/2/21 to the day of your reply or as close as possible. 

1. full names of deceased persons,  

2. dates of death,  

3. marital status,  

4. maiden surnames of married or widowed females,  

5. dates of birth or ages at death,  

6. last known addresses,  

7. estimated value of estates,  

8. date(s) when the information was passed (or information that  

is about to be or likely to be passed) to the Government Legal Department
(formerly Treasury Solicitor) or the Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall or any
other 3rd party, or, confirmation that this will not be happening and the
reason why.  

Q.1 full names of deceased persons,  

A.1 This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 31(1)(a)
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

Q.2 dates of death,  

A.2 This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 22(1)(a) of
the Freedom of Information Act - information intended for future
publication. The information you require will be published here under
'National assistance funerals':   

[1]https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Regist...

Q.3 marital status,  

A.3 We do not hold this information.  

Q.4 maiden surnames of married or widowed females,  

A.4 This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 31(1)(a)
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

Q.5 dates of birth 

A.5 This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 31(1)(a)
Freedom of Information Act 2000 

Q.5a ages at death,  

A.5a This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 22(1)(a) of
the Freedom of Information Act – information intended for future
publication. The information you require will be published here under
'National assistance funerals':   

[2]https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Regist...

Q.6 last known addresses,  

A.6 This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 31(1)(a)
Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

Q.7 estimated value of estates,  

A.7 We do not have an estimated value of the estate.  

Q.8 date(s) when the information was passed (or information that is about
to be or likely to be passed) to the Government Legal Department (formerly
Treasury Solicitor) or the Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall or any other 3rd
party, or, confirmation that this will not be happening and the reason
why.  

A.8 This information will not be provided pursuant to Section 21 of the
Freedom of Information Act - information accessible by other means.  

Adults Services: The information requested is regularly published.  We
send it as soon as we receive a death certificate from someone with no
known next of kin to the Bona Vacantia Division of the Government Legal
Department who publish it within five working days. The information is
available
here: [3]https://www.gov.uk/government/statistica...

Exemptions   

The Freedom of Information Act sets out various exemptions to the right of
access. In the present case the County Council takes the view that the
information relating to your request is exempt under the
following provisions;  

Section 21 Accessible by other means  

Section 21 of the Act states that a public Authority does not need to
provide information under section 1 of the Act if that information is
reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means.   

Section 22 Information intended for future publication  

(1) Information is exempt information if—  

(a)the information is held by the public authority with a view to its
publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date
(whether determined or not),  

Section 31 Law enforcement  

(1) Information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is
exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to, prejudice—   

(a) the prevention or detection of crime,   

Notice of Refusal   

Please treat this letter as a Notice of Refusal as regards the information
covered by the following exemptions; Section 21, Section 22(1)(a) and
Section 31(1)(a).  

Public Interest test  

Section 22(1)(a) and Section 31(1)(a) are both qualified exemptions which
means that the information falling within each exemption still has be
released unless the public interest in disclosure is outweighed by the
public interest in maintaining the exemption.   

Public Interest Test for Section 22(1)(a):  

 Northumberland County Council recognises that there is a general public
interest in information held by public authorities being made available
and that it should take place at the earliest appropriate time. This helps
towards ensuring the public accountability and transparency of public
authorities and promotes public engagement in any debate about the
delivery of public services and the use of public funds. However, the
public interest can sometimes be best served by the planned publication of
information at an appropriate time rather than in response to an
individual request for that information ahead of that time. On balance,
and in all the circumstances of this particular case, we have concluded
that the public interest is best served by the planned future publication
of the information you have requested and by maintaining the exemption at
section 22(1)(a) at this time.  

Public Interest Test for Section 31(1)(a):  

Under Section 31(1)(a) of the Act, an exemption applies where disclosure
would be likely to prejudice a range of investigations and proceedings
conducted by public authorities, including the prevention and detection of
crime. Disclosure of information such as the name and address of the
deceased would provide an opportunity for criminal acts to be
committed. Therefore it is not considered to be in the public interest to
release this information for the reasons stated above. This is in line
with decision notices issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office;
namely FS50584670 Birmingham City Council and FS50586033 Barnsley
Metropolitan District Council.  

Advice and Assistance 
 
The County Council recognises its statutory duty to provide advice and
assistance under Section 16 of the Act. 
 
Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the Council
is seeking to be transparent and open in its response. 
 
Complaints 
 
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office: 
 
Information Governance Office 
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall 
Morpeth 
NE61 2EF 
 
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email] 
 
Information Commissioner 
 
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint,
you have a right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information
Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with
in accordance with the requirements of the Act at: 
 
The Information Commissioner's Office 
Wycliffe House 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF 
Tel: 0303 123 1113 
Email: [email address] 
 
There is no charge for making an appeal. 
 
Yours faithfully 
 
FOI Coordinator – Central Team 
Information Governance Office 
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall 
Morpeth 
Northumberland 
NE61 2EF 
 
Tel: 0345 600 6400 
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email] 
Web: [4]http://www.northumberland.gov.uk 

References

Visible links
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3. http://track.vuelio.uk.com/z.z?l=aHR0cHM...
4. http://track.vuelio.uk.com/z.z?l=aHR0cHM...

Our Ref: 9020   

Dear Enquirer,

INFORMATION REQUEST

Please ignore the previous response just sent, it was sent in error.

Yours faithfully

FOI/EIR Coordinator - Central Team
Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Dear Mr Sharman,
Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing the response to
9020.
Your overdue response will be dealt with as an 'Information complaint'.

The information will be forwarded to the Information Governance Manager
who will contact you with his findings in accordance with the attached
policy.

kind regards

Julia

Information Governance Office

(t)  0345 600 6400

(e) [email address]

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

From: Simon Sharman <[FOI #735486 email]>
Sent: 13 April 2021 10:43
To: FOI Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Biomass
Boiler usage
 
Dear Northumberland County Council,

Further to my request:
[1]https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

This request should, by law, have been responded to promptly and within 20
working days. I realise that this request encompassed the Easter holidays,
but I also understand that the fuel usage figures are recorded by the
energy team within County Hall so are readily available.

Yours,

Simon Sharman

show quoted sections

Our Ref: 9020   

Dear Enquirer, 
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST 
 
I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to Biomass
Boiler usage. 
 
Right of Access 
Section 1(1) of the Act provides any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled. 
 
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request (which Section
1(6) of the Act designates as the "duty to confirm or deny"), and 
 
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him. 
 
The right is to obtain access to the information itself and not to the
document or record which contains it. 
 
The Act creates a general right of access to information held by public
authorities subject to various exemptions. 
 
Northumberland County Council confirms that it holds the information you
have requested, please see the following information in response. 
 
Q.1 The cost of each installation project, and the commissioning dates. 

A.1 

School  Cost  Date Commissioned 
Ashington High School  £672,818.02  PC date 04/11/13 
James Calvert Spence College  £506,613.65  PC date 06/11/13 
Bothal Middle School  £346,211.90  PC date 31/07/14 
Glendale Middle School  £288,390.43  PC date 22/07/15 

Q.2 Copies of the agreements made with the schools to run these instead of
the gas boilers. 

A.2 We do not have any agreements in place with the schools, schools are
responsible for the usage of their own assets. 

Q.3 The number of hours each month or year that the boilers have been run
since installation. If this is not available, the current meter reading
showing the number of hours used. 

A.3  

  Last Meter reading Accreditation Date 
(kWh)  
Ashington High School  1,713,410  01/09/2014 
James Calvert Spence College  444337  11/03/2014 
Bothal Middle School  588690  21/10/2014 
Glendale Middle School  184923  21/12/2015 

 
Q.4 If the boilers are not running, copies of the minutes or written
authorisations showing the decision-making decision not to run them but to
run the gas boilers instead. 

A.4 We do not have any information in relation to Q4, schools are
responsible for the usage of their own assets. 
 
Complaints 
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office: 
 
Information Governance Office 
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall 
Morpeth 
NE61 2EF 
 
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email] 
 
Information Commissioner

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information Commissioner
for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act at: 
 
The Information Commissioner's Office 
Wycliffe House 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow 
Cheshire 
SK9 5AF 
 
Tel: 0303 123 1113 
Email: [email address] 
 
There is no charge for making an appeal. 
 
Yours faithfully 
 
FOI Coordinator – Central Team 
Information Governance Office 
Northumberland County Council 
County Hall 
Morpeth 
Northumberland 
NE61 2EF 
 
Tel: 0345 600 6400 
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email] 
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk