Complete Non-Residential / Business Property Rates Data (Q3 2018)

The request was successful.

Dear South Kesteven District Council,

In terms of the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, and subject to section 40(2) on personal data, could you please provide me with a complete and up-to-date list of all business (non-residential) property rates data for your local authority, and including the following fields:

- Billing Authority Property Reference Code (linking the property to the VOA database reference)
- Firm's Trading Name (i.e. property occupant)
- Full Property Address (Number, Street, Postal Code, Town)
- Occupied / Vacant
- Date of Occupation / Vacancy
- Actual annual rates charged (in Pounds)

If you are unable to provide an absolute “Occupation / Vacancy” status, please provide the Exemptions and / or Reliefs that a particular property may be receiving.

Please provide these data as machine-readable as either a CSV or Microsoft Excel file, capable of re-use, and under terms of the Open Government Licence (meaning reuse for any and all purposes, including commercial).

I last requested this data three months ago, and this is a request for an updated and current dataset.

I'm sure you get many requests for business rates and responding and managing these FOIs must be costly for you. Could I request that - as 65% of local authorities now do - you update and release this dataset via a dedicated page on your local authority website or on an open data service. I can recommend approaches for you to consider, and you should find that this reduces the time and cost of this request process.

Yours faithfully,

Gavin Chait

Customer Services, South Kesteven District Council

Dear Mr Chait,

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Information Request Acknowledgement

Reference No: 1329244

Thank you for your request for information, this has been registered with us on 06/06/2018 16:25:50

Your request has now been assigned to the relevant department. We will provide you with a response within 20 working days, in this case no later than (04/07/2018 16:25:50).

The Freedom of Information Act defines a number of exemptions, which may prevent us releasing the information you have requested. You will be informed if this is the case, and we will advise you of your rights of appeal.

If the information you requested contains reference to a third party, we may need to consult with them before a decision can be made about the information being released. You will be informed if this is the case.

If you require the response from us in an alternative format, e.g. language, audio, large print, etc. then please let us know.

Further information about the Freedom of Information Act is also available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk<http://www.ico.org.uk>

Yours sincerely
South Kesteven District Council
Customer Service Department

Customer Services, South Kesteven District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Chait

Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Information Request

Reference No: 1329244

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which we received on 6 June 2018.

Our response is attached. Please note that we have, in accordance with the ICOs decision in the Cornwall case of February 2017, redacted the occupied/unoccupied status where it does not relate to a corporate entity.

Furthermore, under S43(2) of the FOI Act we can refuse to disclose information if the information is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person (a person may be an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity). We take the view that to disclose the amount of 'actual annual rates charged' may prejudice the commercial interests of the persons in question.

We have considered whether the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. We consider it would not be in the public interest to disclose this information as it could be used by others in a particular market to gain a competitive advantage that could be of greater detriment to the wider public.

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact me. Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Fax: 01625 524510

Website: www.ico.org.uk<http://www.ico.org.uk>

Yours sincerely

Adrian

Adrian Johnson Tech IRRV

Revenues Recovery Team Co-ordinator

South Kesteven District Council

Council Offices, St. Peters Hill

Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6PZ

•: 01476 406080 (Ext 1088)

E : [email address]<mailto:[email address]>

W: www.southkesteven.gov.uk<http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/>