Carmarthenshire Planning Department - highest priority enforcement cases
Dear Carmarthenshire County Council,
It has come to my attention that the Council has created a list of high priority planning enforcement cases, and that this list/s covers the most high priority enforcement cases in the whole County. To help you locate the list, I know that it was in operation in the year 2022 and that it is referred to internally as TOP6 or TOP10.
In line with the Freedom of Information Act, please provide the following:
1. the current TOP6/TOP10 list along with any versions in use last year.
2. the criteria for determining these most high priority cases, and for selecting cases for TOP10 or TOP6 categorisation.
3. procedure for cases after a case has been placed in TOP6/TOP10
Please also provide any internal correspondence about these categories along with meeting minutes and any other relevant documents I am entitled to that relate to these categories.
Yours faithfully,
Mrs. O'Reilly
Diolch am eich gohebiaeth.
Os ydych yn gwneud cais am wybodaeth, bydd y cyfnodau isod yn berthnasol:
Deddf Rhyddid Gwybodaeth 2000 (DRhG) a’r Rheoliadau Gwybodaeth
Amgylcheddol 2004 (RhGA) - 20 diwrnod gwaith, oni bai bod angen eglurhad
arnom ynghylch y wybodaeth yr ydych yn gofyn amdano.
Deddf Diogelu Data 2018 a Rheoliad Cyffredinol ar Ddiogelu Data y DU
(ceisiadau ynghylch data personol) – un mis ar ôl derbyn y cais.
Os bydd angen eglurhad arnom ar unrhyw agwedd o’ch cais, byddwn yn
cysylltu â chi mor gynted ag y bo modd.
Thank you for your correspondence.
If you are making a request for information, the following timescales will
apply:
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) & Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 (EIR) - 20 working days, unless we need clarification
regarding the information you are seeking.
Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR (requests relating to personal data) –
one month from the receipt of the request.
If we do need to clarify any aspect of your request, we will contact you
as soon as possible.
Tîm Rheoli Gwybodaeth | Information Governance Team
Gweithrediadau a Llywodraethu TG | ICT Operations & Governance
Adran y Prif Weithredwr | Chief Executive’s Department
Mae croeso i chi gysylltu â ni yn Gymraeg neu Saesneg |
You are welcome to contact us in Welsh or English
Dear Mrs. O'Reilly,
I refer to your request for information, which was received on 22nd March, 2023 and has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The specific information you requested was contained in your email below.
In response,
1. the current TOP6/TOP10 list along with any versions in use last year.
Carmarthenshire council does not operate a TOP6/TOP10 planning enforcement case list or process to prioritise enforcement, cases are considered on a case by case basis.
2. the criteria for determining these most high priority cases, and for selecting cases for TOP10 or TOP6 categorisation.
Carmarthenshire council does not operate a TOP6/TOP10 planning enforcement case list or process to prioritise planning enforcement cases, cases are considered on a case by case basis.
3. procedure for cases after a case has been placed in TOP6/TOP10
Carmarthenshire council does not operate a TOP6/TOP10 planning enforcement case list or process to prioritise planning enforcement cases, cases are considered on a case by case basis.
Please also provide any internal correspondence about these categories along with meeting minutes and any other relevant documents I am entitled to that relate to these categories.
Carmarthenshire council does not operate a TOP6/TOP10 planning enforcement case list or process to prioritise planning enforcement cases, cases are considered on a case by case basis.
Yours sincerely
Tîm Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth
Gweithrediadau a Llywodraethu TG
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin
Information Governance Team
ICT Operations & Governance
Chief Executive’s Department
Carmarthenshire County Council
Dear FOIA team
I am somewhat surprised by your response. The manager of your department, Mr Tillman had confirmed in writing to me details about TOP6 and TOP10. He confirmed that these were the highest priority enforcement cases in the County. The TOP6 and TOP10 categories are also referred to repeatedly by by staff in internal correspondence that I have viewed.
I hope that this FOI request can still be complied with before the statutory deadline and I hope that this will not need to go to internal review.
If it would be helpful I could publish the Council documents that refer to TOP6 and TOP10 or provide anything else you might need to locate these documents.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. O'Reilly
Dear Mrs. O'Reilly
Carmarthenshire council does not operate a TOP6/TOP10 planning enforcement case list or process to prioritise planning enforcement cases.
In 2021, the council sought independent advice on 5 longstanding enforcement cases from a planning consultant. The report referred to is the independent report by Phil Williams which provided advice on 5 longstanding enforcement cases and which is set out in the report. It is this report that has been colloquially referred to as a top6/ top ten enforcement list, I understand that report and accompanying emails have already been provided to you in a previous subject access request.
Yours sincerely
Tîm Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth
Gweithrediadau a Llywodraethu TG
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin
Information Governance Team
ICT Operations & Governance
Chief Executive’s Department
Carmarthenshire County Council
Dear FOIA,
I think that my request was clear and shouldnt present much of a problem for you.
I am grateful that you have clarified that the TOP6/TOP10 lists refered to by staff is actually a TOP5 list.
In line with the request that we have made, please provide the Phil Williams report and acompanying emails, we have not received these previously. Please also provide the TOP5 list colloqually known internally TOP6/TOP10
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. O'Reilly
Dear FOIA team
I fear that you are misinformed. A TOP6 list was definitley in operation last year, and is referred to and listed in an email dated 24/02/2022 from Jackie Edwards to Rhodri Griffiths (head of Place and Sustainability).
Within this email, they were also referred to as TOP Complaints. We hope that the information within this message helps you in locating the relevant documents and hope that you can respond promptly. Please let us know if you need a copy of the email referred to.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. O'Reilly
Dear Mrs. O'Reilly
I refer to your additional request received on the 21st April.
As previously advised, Carmarthenshire council does not operate a TOP6/TOP10 planning enforcement case list or process to prioritise planning enforcement cases.
In 2021, the council sought independent advice on 5 longstanding enforcement cases from a planning consultant. The report referred to is the independent report by Phil Williams which provided advice on 5 longstanding enforcement cases and which is set out in the report. It is this report that has been colloquially referred to as a top6/ top ten enforcement list, you will be in possession of a redacted version of this email. No other information is held in this regard.
We can also confirm that no documented criteria or procedure in respect of the above list exist. This particular information is not therefore held by the Council.
The other information contained in the above email relates to planning enforcement cases involving other people. We therefore consider that information exempt from disclosure under Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) on the basis that it is personal data. The EIR applies here as the information in question is environmental in nature, that is, it relates to measures/activities which affect or are likely to affect elements of the environment.
Under Regulation 13 of the EIR, a public authority may refuse to release personal data if its disclosure would breach any of the principles set out in Article 5 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GPDR). The same provision can also be found in Section 40 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
The legal definition of personal data contained in the UK GDPR is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable natural person means any individual who can be directly or indirectly by reference to a particular identifier. This definition would include a wide range of identifiers such as names, addresses, unique reference or identification numbers.
The first principle states:
“1. Personal data shall be:
(a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’).”
The term processing includes disclosure to third parties, and to be lawful this must be in accordance with one of the conditions set out in Article 6 of the UK GDPR. If the information falls within any of the special categories of (sensitive) personal data included in the UK GDPR, an additional condition found in Article 9 must also be met before it can be disclosed.
Disclosure of information under the EIR has the effect of placing it in the public domain. We therefore have to disregard who has asked for the information and consider whether it would breach the first UK GDPR principle by releasing it to the world at large.
In deciding whether disclosure would be lawful, we have considered the following factors.
1. Whether we have the consent of the individual(s) to disclose
We do not have consent to disclose the information in question.
2. Whether there are any legitimate interests that necessitate disclosure
Examples of legitimate interests are provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office in its guidance on this subject.
• The general requirement for transparency in public life;
• Issues of interest to the wider public and where disclosure demonstrates accountability, such as in relation to the expenditure of public funds.
There are no such wider interests which would justify, permit or require disclosure in this case.
In view of the above, we do not consider that there is any lawful basis to disclose the information and that as such, this would contravene the data protection principle referred to above. Regulation 13 of the EIR provides an absolute exemption where this is the case.
We appreciate that you will be disappointed by this response, however, if you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled, you can request a review by writing to:
The Head of Administration & Law
Carmarthenshire County Council
County Hall
Carmarthen
SA31 1JP
Email: [email address]
If you remain unhappy with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.gov.uk
There is no charge for making an appeal.
Yours sincerely
Tîm Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth
Gweithrediadau a Llywodraethu TG
Adran y Prif Weithredwr
Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin
Information Governance Team
ICT Operations & Governance
Chief Executive’s Department
Carmarthenshire County Council
Dear Carmarthenshire County Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Carmarthenshire County Council's handling of my FOI request 'Carmarthenshire Planning Department - highest priority enforcement cases'.
Despite repeated denials, the Council did operate a TOP6 list last year (with 6 names and addresses on the list)and I have repeatedly offered to publish the internal emails that prove this. The Council have previously (prior to this FOI) confirmed the existence of the list and confirmed that it lists the highest priority enforcement cases in the County. There must have been a criteria or process for placing people in this category.
There is a very strong public interest case for the list being released. If the list is not open to any public scrutiny, how can any one be sure that the actions of the Council have been taken properly and in line with relevant legislation and policies?
The publishing of the list would not need to include names and could just include a summary of the breach.
Much of the information will already be in the public domain via the enforcement registar.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
Yours faithfully,
Mrs. O'Reilly
Dear Mrs O'Reilly,
Your email below requesting an internal review of the Council's handling of this case was passed to me yesterday to deal with.
I will aim to complete the review within 20 working days of the 3rd May, that being by Friday 2nd June.
Yours sincerely
Robert Edgecombe (Legal Services Manager)
Please find enclosed the outcome of your request for an internal review in
this case.
Yours sincerely
Robert Edgecombe
Dear Mr & Mrs O’Reilly,
I write further to my earlier email and enclose a replacement review
response which corrects an error in my earlier letter. Please accept my
apologies for the mistake that I made.
Yours sincerely
Robert Edgecombe
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