Blue badge disabled parking permits

The request was partially successful.

BBC Shared Data Unit

Good afternoon,

I hope you are well. I would be grateful if you would treat this correspondence as a formal request for disclosure of the following information, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 ("FoI").

Description of information sought:

How many regular car parking bays are there in all of the council-owned car parks across the council area?

How many disabled car parking bays are there in all of the council-owned car parks across the council area?

How many people held a blue badge disabled parking permit issued by the council as at 30 August 2019?

How many applications for blue badge disabled parking permits has the council received since 30 August 2019?

How many of these applications for blue badge disabled parking permits received since 30 August 2019 has the council:
1. Approved
2. Directly refused
3. Refused due to an incomplete request

How many applications for blue badge disabled parking permits has the council received from applicants with hidden/non-visible disabilities (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/peopl...) since 30 August 2019?

How many of these applications for blue badge disabled parking permits received from applicants with hidden/non-visible disabilities (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/peopl...) since 30 August 2019 has the council:
1. Approved
2. Directly refused
3. Refused due to an incomplete request

Could the council please provide the answers to all of the above questions by downloading this read-only Googlesheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1... and filling out its answers in one row of the download, re-saving it and it sending it back as an attachment in response in a .csv file format?

If you need any clarification about my request, or if you cannot provide all of the data I have requested, please contact me to discuss what information you could supply at the earliest opportunity on +443030823927.

If I am mistaken and the information requested is already in the public domain, please direct me to where I can find it.

If it is not, and you feel you cannot provide all of this information, please provide what information you can in the spirit of Section 16 of FoI, to ‘provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so, to persons who propose to make, or have made requests for information’.

Please provide me with a summary of the information I have requested.

I look forward to hearing from you promptly, and at any rate, within the statutory time limit of 20 working days from your receipt of this request.

Whilst writing, I take this opportunity to remind you of the Information Commissioner's public statements, in which he has stated that there is a "presumption of disclosure" under FoI.

Please note that if this request for FoI disclosure is refused, I reserve the right to take up the matter with the Information Commissioner and/or to pursue all legal avenues of appeal. I trust this will not be necessary.

Thanks in advance for your help, kind regards,

Alex Homer

Senior Journalist
BBC Shared Data Unit

Kirkpatrick Angelene, North Lanarkshire Council

Dear Mr Homer

I acknowledge receipt of your request which is receiving attention.

I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.

Yours sincerely

Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB

Working from home
Please contact via email

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Kirkpatrick Angelene, North Lanarkshire Council

Dear
Mr
Homer

Request for Information

 

I refer again to your email dated 17 August 2020 seeking information in
relation to blue badge disabled parking permits.

 

In the first instance, I should acknowledge that this response falls
outwith the statutory deadline outlined in the Environmental Information
(Scotland) Regulations and for this I apologise.

 

Having regard to the nature of your request it appears to me that it is
governed by the provisions of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004 rather than the Freedom of Information legislation and it
is in terms of these regulations that my response is made.

 

Returning to your request and having investigated, my response to your
seven questions is as follows:-

 

Please note that “Regular car parking bays” are deemed to be bays which
are not marked for exclusive use for blue badge holders, electric
vehicles, buses, taxis or emergency vehicles. 

 

(1)          There are 5756 regular parking spaces in public car parks in North
Lanarkshire.  This does not include Council owned non-public car parks, such as
Housing car parks or Council Offices.

 

(2)          There are 266 disabled spaces in these car parks.

 

(3)          There were 22,382 Blue Badge Disabled Parking Permits held in North
Lanarkshire as at 30.8.19.

 

(4)          There have been 6,699 applications received from 30.8.19 to date.

 

(5)          The number of these applications for blue badge disabled parking
permits received since 30 August 2019 that the Council has approved/refused is
as follows:-

 

(a)          6,236 applications were approved

 

(b)          463 applications were refused

 

(c)          I can advise that there is no data set for the information
requested and in terms of Regulation 10(4)(a) of the Environmental Information
(Scotland) Regulations 2004, I must advise that the information requested is not
held. By way of explanation this information is not separately reported upon
within the general refusal total.

 

(6)          I can advise that there is no data set for the information
requested and in terms of Regulation 10(4)(a) of the Environmental Information
(Scotland) Regulations 2004, I must advise that the information requested is not
held. By way of explanation this information is not separately identified within
the total applications received

 

(7)          The number of these applications for blue badge disabled parking
permits received from applicants with hidden/non-visible disabilities since 30
August 2019 that the Council has approved/refused is as follows:-

 

(a)          There were 12 applications approved directly relating to applicants
with hidden/non-visible disabilities.

 

(b & c) I can advise that there is no data set for the information requested and
in terms of Regulation 10(4)(a) of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004, I must advise that the information requested is not held. By
way of explanation this information is not separately reported upon within the
general refusal total.

 

I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the
provisions of Regulation 16 of the Environmental Information (Scotland)
Regulations 2004, has established a procedure whereby any person who has
requested information in terms of those Regulations, may make
representations if it appears to the applicant that the authority has not
complied with any requirements of the Regulations in relation to the
applicant’s request.  Any such representations require to be made in
writing and received by the Council not later than 40 working days after
either the date that the applicant receives any decision or notification
which the applicant believes does not comply with these Regulations or the
date by which such a decision or notification should have been made, or
any other action should be taken by the authority, but was not made or
taken.  Any such representations should be addressed to the Head of Legal
and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell,
ML1 1AB.  Accordingly, if you wish to seek a review, please write to the
Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions.

 

I would advise, also, that in terms of Regulation 17 of the Environmental
Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, a person who is dissatisfied with
a notice given by the local authority under Regulation 16(4) of the
Regulations - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local
authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice -
may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a
decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the
request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt
with in accordance with the Regulations.  Such an application must be made
within six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another
form which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being
used for subsequent reference.  The application must state the name of the
applicant and provide an address for correspondence.  The application must
also specify the request for information to which the requirement for
review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s
dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the
matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the
decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local
authority to issue such a decision.  The Scottish Information Commissioner
can be contacted as follows:-

 

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St. Andrews

KY16  9DS

email: [1][email address]

 

Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online
via the following link: -

 

[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal

 

I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose.  If, however, you
require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please
let me know.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Angelene Kirkpatrick

For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator

North Lanarkshire Council

Civic Centre

Windmillhill Street

Motherwell

ML1 1AB

 

Working from home

Please contact via email

 

 

 

 

 

 

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